The Revenge of the Horsemen
by Pekinaso
Summary: This is just a little (not really) story that I made up recently. It centers around the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and their journey to get revenge on the Charred Council for making War suffer. Along the way, they make an ally out of a half-demon, half-human being named Anne, and travel with her. Rated M for intense violence, mild language and some sexual themes in later chapters.
1. The Horsemen Reunite

Everyone's heads turned to watch the 3 meteors plummeting from the sky. The pale green meteor, the dark purple meteor and the yellow-orange meteor traveled together, down to the shattered Earth.

"The Horsemen cometh!" shouted a member of Hellguard. Uriel stared at the odd-colored flaming meteors for a good while before finding her voice.

"War, your brothers—" her voice trailed off when she saw that the Horseman was nowhere to be found. While the Hellguard had been distracted, War had leaped off the Destroyer's Tower, and plummeted to the ground alongside his siblings. As he fell, he too was consumed in a fiery aura, and became a red-orange meteor. He clenched both of his hands into fists as he sped down. Soon, he was able to see beyond the sand and the dust that clouded the air, and spotted the ruined streets of the city below. His glowing eyes narrowed as he prepared for impact, but he did not close them. The sound of the impact of all four meteors echoed throughout the area, and smoke and dust billowed up into the air. Behind the cover of the dust, the Red Rider rose to his feet and stood tall. He turned around and looked in front of him, his solid white eyes piercing through the debris. _My brothers must be nearby_, he thought to himself. He took a step, and then another. Then he started to run. As he ran, flames appeared alongside him. War glanced at the flames to his left and waited for a black body to reveal itself before reaching out his hulk of a left hand.

In the blink of an eye, he grabbed the still emerging saddle and hauled himself onto the back of his fiery, black-bodied phantom steed Ruin. The apocalyptic stallion whinnied and snorted fire from his nostrils. The flames about his hooves danced aggressively, and the runes on his neck glowed red with a natural rage. His mane and tail looked like smoke. On War's command, the powerful steed turned a sharp corner and raced down the street. After a few more turns, War finally found exactly what he was looking for. Smoke still billowed from the three craters, but it seemed that nothing in the area had moved. War and Ruin stood there, waiting and watching for the other Horsemen. Finally, a silhouette emerged from behind one of the smoke pillars. War did not move. From the corner of his eye, he saw another figure rise. He recognized both figures as Strife and Fury, but he did not see Death. Was he already gone? No. Another figure rose behind the original two. He stood slowly and remained still for a moment before looking in War's direction. Despite the distance between them, War could still make out the solid orange eyes of his brother, the Pale Rider. Suddenly, the White Rider and the Black Rider turned their solid yellow eyes towards War, and turned their bodies with their heads. War commanded Ruin to advance towards the other three Horsemen. The horse's hooves stopped several feet away from them. War himself said nothing, and simply stared back at his siblings. A few moments later, movement came from one of the legendary riders. Death took a step forward, and then another. He slowly walked out of the crater he had created, past the dust that flew into the air. His whole being came into view. His orange eyes stared into his brother's face for a while before words were finally exchanged.

"It is good to see you are well, War," Death spoke. Ruin whinnied as War allowed himself to smile vaguely.

"Death, it has been a while," he replied in a barely softer-than-usual voice. Death chuckled lightly.

"That is true," he said. A scraping of boots was heard behind the Reaper, and Strife appeared behind him. He then moved to Death's right. He brushed his arms off to remove the airborne dust that had collected on him upon impact.

"Took quite a fall there," he said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Didn't expect to be called so soon." Fury suddenly appeared on Death's left.

"Stop complaining, Strife," she calmly hissed. She ran her fingers through her red-violet hair. "Though, I actually do find it a bit early that the Seventh Seal was broken now." War remained quiet, unwilling to share the information that he had learned in his quest for self-redemption. However, Death was most certainly not willing to ride without learning this information first.

"I heard about the crime you committed, War," he began. War turned his gaze on him, his eyes having suddenly become hard and unforgiving. "But I know that you are the most honorable among us. You wouldn't doom humanity to extinction just like that," Death added. War's gaze softened a bit.

"I was _summoned_. I _answered_ a _call_," War replied, indignant. Death was about to speak again, but he was interrupted by Strife.

"But there was no _call_, War. _You_ broke the law," he said, somewhat annoyed. War was good at hiding his rage, but his eyes revealed everything. His punishing glare did not unnerve Strife much.

"I was summoned… By the _Council_," War growled. "I know the truth. I have been to the Tree of Knowledge in Eden." Strife reacted to this. His yellow eyes locked on War's.

"You what?" he asked, surprised. War's gaze did not change.

"I was betrayed… By the Council, and the forces of Heaven itself," he began. "Before I went to the Tree, Azrael, the Angel of Death, told me that Abaddon had ordered six of the seven seals be broken. It was a plot to make Hell seem like they attacked prematurely. After the seals were broken, they were re-forged to hide the evidence. The Council found out about this, and also discovered Abaddon's betrayal."

"That doesn't quite explain why you were summoned," Death said as he extended an arm in a pointing gesture. War turned his attention back to his brother. Ruin shifted his hooves a bit.

"The Council wasn't willing to send any of us without good enough proof, but…" War paused for a moment. He looked down at the ground next to him before turning back to Death. "Vengeance is the only proof I need."

"So, the Council framed you because they knew that you would try to clear your name?" Fury asked. War looked at her and nodded. Even Strife looked surprised.

"You're probably the most loyal to the Council out of all of us," he said. "Why would they do this?" War's eyes hardened, but the rage was not directed towards the White Rider. He straightened himself and sat up tall on Ruin's saddle.

"My duty was to root out all involved," he said gruffly. "And now I know that the Council is also responsible." Death's eyes widened.

"I must admit, I am hardly loyal to the Council. But War, trying to destroy them is foolish, not to mention impossible." War scowled.

"That was the duty they gave me—and now it seems that their plan has backfired," he growled in response. "I will see this injustice finished." War commanded Ruin to turn around. However, before the flaming black horse could start galloping away, the Pale Rider called out to him.

"Wait War," he said. Ruin stopped, and both he and War looked back at Death. "You will not be able to do this alone." Suddenly, green flames appeared on Death's right. He quickly jumped in that direction and landed on the saddle of his horse Despair. The phantom steed's zombie-like appearance would've frightened just about anyone, but the Horsemen and their steeds were hardly unnerved. Death gripped Despair's mane, which was composed entirely of green vapor. That same green vapor emanated from his hooves, and made a tail were there was only a small bony protrusion. The stallion's green eyes burned with determination. He pawed at the ground with his hoof and snorted. Death rode up next to War and looked him in the eye. War smirked.

"I knew I wouldn't be alone," the Rider remarked. Both he and Death looked back at Strife and Fury. Strife smiled, but it was invisible due to his face being covered by an ivory white helmet.

"I've been waiting a long time to kill me some demons!" he exclaimed as dark purple flames appeared on his right. He reached out his right hand and grabbed a hold of the emerging saddle before pulling himself onto it. His horse, Pain, neighed and reared up on his back legs. Pain was a horse who was as white as snow, and had the body of Ruin, meaning that he was a very powerful horse. Dark purple smoke emanated from his hooves, and a lighter purple smoke was emitted by his mane and tail. The horse's main and tail were also white, though they were more silver in color. Pain's purple eyes glowed with hatred. The difference between Pain and the other Horsemen's steeds was that Pain actually wore armor. Silver armor covered the horse's head, neck, legs, and back. Not only that, but the armor was spiked. Pain was a fearsome horse, and shared his attitude with Strife, which made him scarier. Strife lightly but firmly grasped Pain's mane and commanded him to trot forward a little. Fury looked up at Strife, and then back at War and Death.

"I know the Council's ways now," she said. Yellow-orange flames appeared on her left. "They must suffer for their crimes." She grabbed onto the saddle and jumped onto it before her horse, Torment, could fully appear. The horse whinnied and snorted, and pawed the ground a few times. Torment was like the opposite of Pain, as he was a black horse with the body of Despair. The horse had an extremely thin, malnourished appearance, and all of his bones were visible through his flesh. The horse had yellow eyes, and his black mane and tail glowed with a yellow-orange vapor. The same kind of vapor was emitted from the horse's hooves. He snorted again, and this time yellow-orange smoke emerged from his nostrils. On Fury's command, the skinny stallion moved forward a bit and shifted his hooves afterwards. Death turned his gaze back to War as War continued looking at his fellow Riders. He laughed lightly.

"Very well," he said in a light-hearted voice. "We shall ride together again!" With that, he turned back to the direction Ruin was facing and somewhat tightened his grip on Ruin's mane. Ruin reared up on his back legs and neighed loudly as he kicked his front legs out. He returned to all fours and immediately broke into a run, leaving a trail of fire and smoke behind him. Strife and Fury took off after the Red Rider, and Death trailed them. The Horsemen of the Apocalypse were reunited, and they were riding together once more.


	2. Anne's Beginnings

Anne awoke in a ruined building. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes before sitting up with difficulty. Her bones popped and cracked as she did. Her body felt sore. Despite all of this, she only had one question on her mind.

"What happened?" he asked aloud as she put her hand to her head. The truth was, she knew what happened. Well, until she was sucked out of the Well of Souls. Everything was fuzzy after that. She removed her hand from her head and looked around herself. Yes, she was on Earth. She had to be. Sunlight streamed in through holes on the walls, which was where windows had originally been. She stood up shakily, her bones cracking and popping some more. She took shaky steps towards the nearest window and looked outside. The streets and the sky were absolutely clear. Were the demons gone? She highly doubted it. She quickly dropped to the ground when she heard the growling of a demon. It passed by quickly, and Anne soon got the courage to look outside again. She had to leave this place. It wasn't safe, and she figured that she would have to find other humans in order to have a higher chance of survival. She considered going to the door, but she figured that it was a better idea to go through the window. She could fit through the opening easily, and she figured that opening the door would probably cause it to fall forward due to it being so old. She made her way through the window and dropped onto the sidewalk. She stood up quickly and took in her surroundings. She didn't need to be killed by demons again. She decided to head down the path to her left. She half-walked, half-ran for a good while before encountering some demons. She recognized them as Phantom Guards. She quickly hid and waited until the demons were gone before continuing down the path. She kept walking and running until she finally tired and stopped by a building. It was here that things got hectic. She heard the flapping of wings and looked up immediately. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a blade piercing flesh, and a scream of agony following it. She was very surprised to see an angel appear, but apparently it was the angel that had been wounded. It plummeted down to the sidewalk that she was on. She brought a hand to her mouth.

_Oh my god_, she thought. Without a second thought, she rushed over to the angel and stood behind him. She wrapped her arms around the angel's chest, her arms sliding under the heavenly being's arms. She struggled to drag the angel through the hole in the side of the building right next to them. She dragged him until she reached a desk of sorts before setting him down, his back now resting on the desk. She looked at the blood pouring out of his abdomen. It was a long horizontal cut. An axe wound. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the roar of a Phantom Guard.

_He's coming to finish the job_, she thought to herself. She turned her attention to the weapon that the angel had in his right hand. She had seen this weapon before. It was a type of angelic gun. She slowly reached out to grab it. Her fingers closed around it, and pulled it towards her. It was too heavy to hold with one hand. She quickly grasped the long pitch-black handle of the gun with both hands. She spotted the trigger immediately. She laughed lightly before remembering that there was a Phantom Guard that was after the angel. She turned her head to find two Prowlers headed her direction. They were staring directly at her. She stood up slowly and faced the animalistic four-legged demons. One snapped its jaws. Suddenly, the Phantom Guard jumped down from the roof of the building and landed on the street below. It turned around, and its fiery eyes met Anne's frightened brown ones. She glanced back at the wounded angel, and rage welled up within her. She looked at the three Hell spawn. She aimed the gun at a Prowler. The Prowler roared and started moving towards her. Fear froze her in place, but her anger forced her to act. The Prowler lunged. With a cry, Anne fired a shot into the Prowler's wide-open mouth. The blast emerged from the beast's nape, spraying its blood into the air. The demon fell dead at the human's feet, and its body began to fade away in a cloud of red and black smoke. The other Prowler wasn't sure how to react. Even the Phantom Guard stood there in shock. Anne took advantage of this and aimed at the second Prowler. She fired a shot, which hit is directly in the head. The beast collapsed on the ground, dead. Anne was a good shot; she had fired several guns in her day, when Earth still belonged to mankind. Fury filled the Phantom Guard and, with a roar, began to charge at her. She quickly fired a shot at it. Much to her surprise, the demon deflected the holy bullet-like blast with the flat end of his bloodstained axe. She realized that the demon would simply block her shots, so she would have to do something else.

_This could be a good hammer_, she thought. A smile formed on her face. She grasped the gun tightly and waited until the demon was close enough before executing her attack. The demon started to raise his axe. Anne bent her knees, and swung the weapon towards her left. For added momentum, she moved her body with the makeshift hammer. The demon was unprepared, and was struck in the side of the head. Anne heard the creature's skull crack as it was sent flying into the wall to its right. Dust rolled into the air, and the demon lay still. Because it did not turn into smoke, Anne figured that it was still alive. Keeping herself and the weapon controlled, she swung it back to her right and quickly aimed it at the downed Phantom Guard. Debris shifted as the demon tried to rise to its feet. It raised its head and looked at Anne. The gun had done some damage alright; the left side of the demon's face was caved in and not looking very good. The beast exhaled audibly before Anne pulled the trigger once more, the shot embedding itself in the demon's head. The creature collapsed into the debris and disappeared in a burst of hellish smoke. Anne was breathing hard. She lowered the gun and looked back at the angel. She set the gun down and went over to the angel. She put a hand to the still bleeding wound.

"He's bleeding out," she whispered to herself. "Maybe I can find something to stop the bleeding here." She left the angel and moved behind the desk to see if she could find something. She was surprised when she heard the clanking of metal and light, low groan. She immediately rushed back to the angel. The angel's solid blue eyes brightened and stared into her own. Neither of them said anything for a bit.

"You're a human," the angel finally said. Anne nodded quickly and put a hand on his chest.

"You were attacked by a Phantom Guard," she told the angel. "I brought you here for safety." The angel processed her words in his mind for a moment before replying.

"The Phantom Guard… What happened to it?" he asked. Anne looked over at the debris where the corpse had once been. She looked back at the angel and nodded to that area.

"I used your gun to kill it," she replied. She moved her body slightly to the side to let the angel see the gun laying behind her. The angel looked at her, obviously impressed.

"That… Is good," he managed to say before reaching his right hand to his bleeding wound and moving his upper body forward a bit in a reaction to pain. A groan escaped his mouth. Anne placed her hands on his shoulders and carefully pushed him back against the desk.

"Don't move," she said. "I'll find something to stop the bleeding." The angel placed his left hand on her right shoulder. He shook his head.

"There's no point in doing so," he said. "I'm already dying. I can feel it." He tightened his grip on her shoulder a bit. She glanced down at his hand, and then looked back into the angel's eyes, which were draining of life. "Despite the fact that you are a human, you are worthy of being part of the Hellguard," the angel continued. The human said nothing, but a cloud of confusion passed over her face. The angel coughed and inhaled sharply. "My time nears." Anne shook her head.

"No, I can still help—"

"There is no saving me, human," the angel said, cutting Anne off. The hand on her shoulder started to glow with a blue aura. Anne stared at it. "I will fall, but someone else will take my place. Join the Hellguard. Fight the demons. Reclaim your Earth." The angel coughed again, and his glowing hand dropped from Anne's shoulder. The glowing stopped. Anne could practically see the angel's life slip away. She tightly grasped his shoulders and shook him lightly.

"No, don't die!" she told the angel. The angel looked at her weakly.

"What is your name, human?" Anne was struck. Why would he, out of all questions, ask her name? Nonetheless, she replied.

"Anne." The angel chuckled lightly.

"Ah, Anne. Thank you," he said, his voice a quiet whisper. "Anne, Anne…" The angel's bloodstained right arm fell to the ground, and his head sagged to his right. The glow of life left his eyes. Tears welled up in Anne's eyes. She shook the angel again, this time slightly harder.

"No, no! Wake up, angel! Wake up!" she pleaded in vain. She released the dead angel's shoulders and let her arms hang by her sides as she began to weep. She cried for a bit before finally deciding to leave the building. As she stood up, her right shoulder began to burn. She winced in pain and looked at it. Before she could question herself about what could possibly be wrong, her shoulder burst into flames. It was a blue flame, the same blue that the angel's hand had glowed when he placed it on this very shoulder. Anne didn't have time to scream. The flames consumed her entire form and burned brightly. She cried out in agony, but it seemed that no sound escaped her mouth. The burning eventually subsided, and the flames burned without causing pain. But Anne wouldn't know that, because she had already passed out.


	3. The Horsemen Do Battle

**_Considering that I have yet to read The Abomination Vault, there might be some inaccuracies in this chapter. Once I read said book, I will fix these inaccuracies. Also, there are a few spoilers here, so read at your own risk._**

* * *

The Horsemen of the Apocalypse rode across the broken streets of the ruined city, seeking out the wicked, as that was their duty. The Horsemen rode in a set diamond shape: War was in the lead, Strife and Fury rode side by side while leaving enough distance between the both of them, and Death trailed behind his siblings. The galloping of horses echoed across the city, alerting angels and demons alike. The steeds whinnied and neighed every so often, adding to the fact that others knew where they were. Eventually, the Riders began to sense enemies. War's right hand released Ruin's mane and reached for Chaoseater, the massive sword that rested on his back. He drew the sword and lowered his arm so that the blade stuck out to Ruin's right. Fury's right hand released Torment's wispy mane and grabbed the terrible weapon handle on the right side of her hip. With a flick of her wrist, the opening of the handle came alive as a bright magenta flame burned within, and lengthened into a flaming whip. Death released Despair's mane with both hands and grabbed the two scythes that hung on his hips. He quickly combined the two scythes into one and quickly rode up to Strife, who let go of Pain's mane with one hand and drew his gun Mercy. Death himself pulled out a pistol as well.

"I believe this is yours, Strife," Death said as he offered him the gun. Strife looked down at the gun, and then back at Death.

"Redemption… I thought I left it with the Makers in the Forge Lands," he said. His eyes narrowed. "What the hell were you doing there?" Death ignored the question and shoved the weapon into his brother's other hand. He then slowed down so that he could trail behind the other three Horsemen. Strife scoffed and held his two pistols so that they were ready to fire. The Horsemen continued on until they finally found a small army of demons. The Hell beasts were caught off guard, and about ten of them were killed right off the bat either by being cleaved in half by War's Chaoseater or Death's scythe, getting shot repeatedly by Strife's Mercy and Redemption, or being horribly burned and strangled by Hunger, Fury's whip. After those ten were killed, the demons finally got ahold of themselves and engaged the Horsemen, bellowing and roaring as they charged. The steeds plowed through groups of demons and trampled them on their own while giving themselves a speed boost and allowing their Riders to massacre survivors. It wasn't long before the small army was completely decimated. The only sign that was left behind were the pools of blood on the ground. The Horsemen stopped riding for a moment to let their horses rest. During this time, Strife approached Death with a hostile look in his eyes.

"I asked you a question earlier, Death," he said as he pulled out Redemption. He didn't hold it as if he was about to fire it, though; he held it as if he was offering it to Death. He nudged the gun in the Pale Rider's direction. "What were you doing in the Forge Lands?" Death glared at him. He was in no mood for answering questions. Strife laughed menacingly. "I guess you don't like questions, do you?" He started to grip the gun differently, moving it to a position that he could fire it. Death's orange eyes burned into Strife's.

"I had no intention of going to the Forge Lands," Death answered. Strife narrowed his eyes.

"Then how did you end up there?" he asked.

"With a portal."

"Shocking. I never could've guessed." He aimed the pistol at Death. Fury urged Torment to move towards Strife and Pain, slightly startling the armored white horse. Strife turned his gaze towards Fury. "This has nothing to do with you, Fury!" Faster than anyone could blink, Death had the sharp end of his scythe on Strife's throat, and pressed the unnerving weapon further into his brother's neck.

"I went to the Forge Lands to reach the Tree of Life," Death said. "That is the only answer you will receive from me." Strife snorted and viciously returned his pistol to his waist to holster it. Death swung his scythe back around and away from Strife. Before he could command Despair to keep moving, War blocked the path with Ruin. His white eyes stared into Death's fiery orange.

"What would you want in the Tree of Life?" the Red Rider asked. Death stared at him, unwilling to answer. War narrowed his eyes. Death was hiding information from him again, and he hated it when he did that. Death sighed.

"I was sent there by… By a friend," Death replied, choosing his words carefully.

"And what 'friend' was this?"

"He was once called 'The Keeper of Secrets'."

"That is the first time I have heard that name."

"Then you may better know him as 'The Crowfather'." As if on cue, a crow flew down from the sky and perched itself on Death's right shoulder. Death looked at the crow to acknowledge his presence. Something in War's mind clicked.

"Yes, I remember The Crowfather. He was the one who gave you Dust," he said while motioning to the crow. "But why did you go to him?" Death was getting a bit annoyed. He didn't like being asked questions, or answering them. He readjusted his grip on Despair's mane.

"I was looking for answers," he responded in an icy voice. War ignored the warning tone in Death's voice.

"Answers for what?" Death's annoyance began to turn into anger. Despair felt this and began to shift his hooves in warning.

"I was looking for a way to prove to the Council that you were innocent of starting the Endwar," Death answered coldly. War widened his eyes a bit, but narrowed them again.

"And how were you—"

"Enough, War." War promptly shut his mouth as he noticed dark purple smoke coming from Death's body. If there was anything War feared of Death, it was his legendary scythe, Harvester. Death had threatened to cut his legs off with it once. Judging from the fact that it had been Death who severed War's left arm and replaced it with an enchanted gauntlet, he knew that Death was serious. War nodded once and commanded Ruin to back up to allow Despair to move forward. The purple smoke stopped abruptly and Death commanded Despair to move forward. Suddenly, the horse stopped. "What happened to the Destroyer?" Death asked without looking behind him. War tightened his grip around Chaoseater's handle. He wanted to ask how his brother had learned about the demon's existence, but he decided against it. He figured he would ask more questions later, when Death was in a better mood.

"I killed him," War answered. Death looked back at him, clearly amused. The Pale Rider did not respond, but instead laughed lightly as he turned back to look at the path before him. The clopping of hooves could be heard as Fury nudged Torment to move next to Pain and Strife. Fury looked at Strife with concern in her eyes.

"You asked Death why he was in the Forge Lands," she began. Strife seemed to glare at her, probably still irritated at how she had purposely distracted his phantom steed so Death could get the upper hand against him. Fury narrowed her eyes. "I think the real question is, why did _you_ go to the Forge Lands to leave Redemption with the Makers?" Strife remained quiet for a moment before looking down at the pistol.

"I gave it to them because I knew that they would fix it," he replied, a tinge of worry slightly audible in his voice. Fury widened her eyes in surprise.

"What happened? Did Redemption stop working?" she asked. Strife nodded.

"I don't know how, or why," he said. "I just know that it got jammed or something, and then it wouldn't fire anymore." Death looked over his shoulder to look at his brother. Concern was also visible in his eyes.

"Did you come across anything that may have ruined the gun?" the Pale Rider asked. Strife looked at him, the anger that he had against him gone. He glanced down at Redemption for a moment before looking back up.

"Some black stuff, I think," he ultimately replied. Death narrowed his eyes.

"Did it have yellow crystals coming out of it?" Strife stared at his brother, not knowing how to react.

"Actually, yes it did. What do you know of it?" Death widened his eyes. He commanded Despair to do a full one hundred and eighty degree turn so that he could maintain eye contact with Strife easier.

"Where did you find that substance?" Death asked. Strife wanted to ask what Death knew of it, but he figured he would eventually answer that if he played his cards right. Strife readjusted his grip on Pain's mane.

"At the Tree of Life," Strife answered. "I went to the Forge Lands originally just to spend my leisure time."

"The substance was already at the Tree?" The White Rider smiled underneath his helmet. Death was unknowingly giving himself away.

"Yes," Strife answered again. "Some 'constructs', as the Makers called them, attacked me. Before I knew it, some of that black goo happened to fall on Redemption and suddenly I couldn't fire it anymore." Despair shifted his hooves.

"Strife, you shouldn't have brought that gun to the Makers," Death suddenly said. Strife cocked his head to the side inquisitively.

"Why not?" Strife knew that he had lured Death into his trap.

"That essence was called 'Corruption'," Death admitted. "The constructs that attacked you… They were already corrupted. Corruption spreads easily. By bringing that gun to Tri-Stone, I fear that you were one of the ones responsible for corrupting other parts of the Forge Lands."

"Corruption?" Strife asked after learning this information. He appeared to be confused.

"I am surprised that Redemption is Corruption-free," Death added. "The only way corrupted beings can be saved is by killing them. I guess Corruption cannot affect us Horsemen, or our weapons." Strife looked him dead in the eye.

"What happened to Corruption? I haven't seen any since I got here," Strife asked. Death stiffened.

"Corruption originated from a being I thought I killed long ago," Death answered after a short moment. "Absalom." Fury widened her eyes in shock.

"Absalom! How did he survive?" she asked. Death turned to her.

"I do not know," Death said guiltily. "However, Absalom himself told me that our march against the Nephilim created Corruption, which spread from him." Death's eyes hardened. "I made sure he _stayed dead_ when I faced him again."

"So you killed him?" War suddenly asked. Death looked at him and nodded. War smirked. However, his smirked melted away as his eyes narrowed. Despair shifted his hooves and whinnied.

"What is it, War?" Death asked. War looked around and placed Chaoseater on his back. He then reached down to his right hip and grabbed the handle of something else. He then drew a pistol that Strife was shocked to see.

"That looks like my Mercy," the White Rider said to his brother. War glanced back at him for a moment.

"This pistol is also named Mercy," War said. "It was crafted by a Maker here on Earth." He leveled the pistol so that it was ready to fire. The Red Rider suddenly looked to his left. The other Horsemen followed his gaze. At first they saw nothing, but before they could question their brother, War aimed Mercy in the same direction. Something was definitely there. War was never wrong when sensing the location of an enemy. Without looking at him, Death spoke to War.

"What is it?" he asked. War remained silent for a moment. His index finger tightened around Mercy's trigger.

"A Trauma," the Red Rider finally replied. As if on cue, a roar ripped through the air. Shortly afterwards, the sound of stone and concrete cracking and falling away was heard. The beast was climbing. Suddenly, it launched itself from whenever it was on the side of the building and flew up to the roof. A heavy thud echoed throughout the area as its massive feet landed on more stone and concrete. It swung its arms out in front of it and roared down at the Horsemen. War aimed at the hulking demon with his pistol, and fired. The bullets embedded themselves in the creature's flesh, but because its flesh was like armor on its own, there was barely any damage done to it. The Trauma looked down at where it had been shot, and then looked back down at the Horsemen. Rage filled its eyes.

"Err, War, I think you just pissed it off," Death remarked. The beast roared once more before jumping down to street level. It heavily cracked and shattered the asphalt as it landed, and the ground around it shook violently. It started to advance towards the four. War scowled and holstered his pistol. He urged Ruin to run towards the demon. Death held his hand out in a stop motion. "War, wait! Traumas are too powerful!" War ignored his brother and raced towards the beast. He held onto Ruin's mane with both hands tightly. He intended to make this quick. Suddenly, he jumped off of Ruin's back and flew through the air towards the Trauma. Ruin collapsed into the ground in the form of flames. War quickly drew Chaoseater from his back as he neared the Trauma, and pointed the tip of it at an angle towards the ground. As the blade started to move underneath the terrible beast's arm, the Red Rider swung it upwards. The sharpened edge of the blade easily sliced through the demon's tough flesh, and the massive arm fell to the ground. The Trauma half-roared and half-moaned in pain as War landed on his feet. As soon as he touched the ground, War quickly turned and sliced the demon's other arm off. The Trauma staggered backwards in surprise and pain as blood spurted from its wounds. Faster than it could blink, the Horseman had scampered up the demon's legs and reached its back while placing his trusty sword on his back. He grabbed a hold of the Trauma's horns and, with a yell, violently twisted its head to the left, snapping its neck. Blood flowed from the Trauma's mouth as it collapsed to its knees and then onto its face. War jumped off the creature as it fell, and flames spawned underneath the Horseman. Suddenly, Ruin reappeared just as War expertly landed on the saddle. He quickly grabbed a hold of Ruin's mane and raced towards the other Horsemen, though Ruin began to slow down as he neared them. Strife laughed lightly.

"You were always one to kill things as brutally as possible," the White Rider commented as War returned. War looked at him with an expressionless face, though his eyes shone with pride. Death looked at War.

"I guess you had plenty of encounters with them?" the Pale Rider said inquisitively. War nodded once.

"We should keep moving," War said as he and Ruin turned in the direction that continued down the road they were on. "If we stay here, more demons will surely appear." Ruin reared up on his back legs and neighed before heading down the broken street. The Horsemen quickly took up their set riding pattern again and raced off, the galloping of the horses echoing throughout the city. The wicked shivered in fear and hid as the Horsemen passed. Eventually, the four drew their weapons as they sensed more enemies nearby. As blood spilled onto the ground, the screams of the wicked and the neighing of horses filled the air.


	4. A Fated Meeting

_**Anne meets Uriel and the Horsemen for the first time! This chapter has a few spoilers from the end of Darksiders 2, so read at your own risk.**_

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Anne had a hard time waking up. Her body felt awfully heavy, and she couldn't figure out why. When she tried to move her arm, she heard the clanking of metal. She blinked several times to get rid of the fog-like film that was covering her eyes and then looked down at her arm. She was surprised to see that her limb was adorned in the same armor that the angels wore. At the thought of angels, she remembered the one that had died before her eyes. She struggled to turn her head in the direction of where the corpse was… or rather, where it should have been. The angel was gone, his body having faded long ago. Anne closed her eyes and struggled to rise to her feet. She was successful, but it was hard work. The armor was heavy, but it wasn't as heavy as she had anticipated. She could still run just fine, albeit for a shorter period of time. She looked at her right shoulder to see if it was fine. She was surprised to see a mark on the armor in that spot.

"The mark of the Hellguard," Anne whispered to herself. She started to laugh lightly. The angel had made her into one of the Hellguard. The flames that had consumed her earlier were actually creating the armor she was wearing now. She decided that it would be for the best if she left this building now and went to search for other allies. She picked up the late angel's gun and walked out of the ruined structure. She looked down the sidewalk and decided to continue in the direction that she had originally been going. She ran down the path, her armor clanking lightly with every step. She soon reached an intersection, but had to press herself against the wall of the building right next to her. The snarling Prowler crossed the cracked and empty road to reach the other side of the sidewalk. Anne waited for the demon to pass before turning the corner and heading in the direction that the Prowler had come from. Eventually, she heard gunfire that sounded similar to shots firing from an angelic gun. Anne towards the sound and came upon two angels fending off a group of Phantom Guards and Prowlers. Anne cautiously turned the corner and ran down the sidewalk a bit before dropping quietly to one knee to balance herself. She aimed her gun at a Prowler in the back of the group and fired.

The Prowler coughed up blood and collapsed as the bullet-like shot plowed through its nape and out its throat. The other demons had not seen their comrade die, but the angels noticed this. They tried their best to not lose focus as another Prowler in the back end of the group was shot and killed. Anne inhaled sharply and held her breath as she shot a Phantom Guard this time. He was hit in the back, and the blast emerged through the middle of his chest. A small fountain of blood shot out from the exit wound as the demon fell. At this point, the other demons noticed that some of their group had been killed along with the Phantom Guard. One of the Phantom Guards turned back and spotted a figure hiding behind some debris. It couldn't make out what it was, but it recognized the gun immediately. It roared furiously and started charging at the figure. Anne took notice of the advancing demon and fired a shot. The Phantom Guard collapsed onto the ground as its wounded leg gave way. Anne quickly finished off the demon with a shot to the face.

"There are too many of them!" Anne heard one of the angels say. Anne decided to abandon her post and ran towards the angels. She repeatedly pressed the trigger and fired a volley of shots. Several demons were killed as a result, and the remaining demons turned their attention to her. They snarled and roared before quickly being eradicated by the angels. Anne smiled, but that smile quickly faded as she turned around to find several Prowlers advancing towards her. Her finger tightened around the trigger, and the gun began to charge a massive shot. Anne glanced at the gun. It could fire stronger shots? Anne pulled the trigger. Sure enough, a huge ball of holy energy fired from the gun, and hit the middle Prowler. It quite literally exploded, its limbs flying everywhere and a shower of blood raining on the spot it had once been. Two other Prowlers close to the one that was viciously torn apart were also killed, with half their bodies burned away. The other Prowlers stopped in their tracks, hesitant to attack. However, before they could even blink, they were quickly shot by the two angels. Anne breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to find herself face-to-face with the angels. They didn't look like they trusted her. Anne quickly put down her gun and looked at the angels. The heavenly beings exchanged looks before looking back at Anne and lowering their weapons some. "You are no angel," one angel said. Anne shook her head.

"No, I'm not," she responded. One of the angels looked at her suspiciously.

"Then where did you get that armor and that Hellguard Lance?" the suspicious angel asked. Anne glanced down at the gun. _So I guess it's called a "Hellguard Lance" then_, she thought to herself. She looked at the angels.

"There was a member of the Hellguard I found earlier," she began. "He was heavily wounded, and I used his Hellguard Lance to kill any demons that came near him. I tried to help him, but…" Anne stopped. She took a deep breath. "His life slipped away. But before he died, he made me a member of the Hellguard." She pointed at her right shoulder to prove her point. The suspicious angel looked more surprised now. He looked at his comrade.

"Do you believe this?" he asked.

"I do," said a feminine voice. Anne and the angels quickly looked up.

"Uriel," the other angel said. The female angel slowly lowered herself to the ground, but she remained hovering about a foot from it. Her golden eyes stared into Anne's. Uriel tilted her head to the side a bit.

"I know a human when I see one," she said. Anne wasn't sure how to react, so she dropped to one knee in a bow and dropped her head. Uriel's eyes widened. The angels lowered their lances fully. Uriel laughed lightly. "No need to bow, child," she said. "Rise." Anne slowly rose to her feet and looked at Uriel. She could tell that the angel was friendly, as long as she didn't get on her bad side. Anne opened her mouth to speak.

"You said you believed my story?" she asked. Uriel nodded.

"You spoke truth; how could I not?" the angel replied. Anne shifted her feet.

"I understand if you don't want a human to be part of the Hellguard," Anne said, a tad bit nervous. Uriel shook her head.

"The Hellguard would not choose new members upon death unless they knew they were worthy enough," she responded. "And you _are_ worthy." Anne's eyes widened in surprise. Uriel held out her left hand, and a golden hilt materialized in it. She handed it to the human. Anne wrapped her fingers around the bladeless hilt and studied it.

"How does it work without a blade?" she asked.

"The blade will only emerge when you need to use it," Uriel explained. "It senses when you wish to draw it. Go on, child. Try it." Anne stared at the hilt, but had no will to draw the blade. She decided that actions would be better, and she swung her arm down to the right. Sure enough, the blade emerged. It looked like the sword Uriel held in her right hand, except it glowed with a strong blue aura, the same color blue as the flames that had given her armor. The angels twitched, probably unnerved that the human had drawn a weapon. Uriel looked unfazed. She held out her sword.

"That is a copy of my blade, Sunder," she said. "Use it well." Anne looked at her, and then back at her own Sunder. It sensed her will to sheathe itself, and proceeded to do so. Anne placed the hilt on her right hip. It attached itself to her armor as if there was a powerful magnet on it. She reached down and grabbed the lance. She decided to put the long-ranged weapon on her back. Like Sunder, it attached itself to her back through some sort of special magnetic mechanism. She looked back at Uriel.

"What do you want me to do now?" the human asked. Uriel thought about her answer for a moment.

"You know why the Hellguard are here, yes?" Uriel responded. Anne nodded.

"To fight Hell's forces." Uriel nodded once.

"Now that you are a member of the Hellguard, I need you to get involved in the battle," the angel said. "I assume that you wish to fight for your Earth?" Anne nodded again. Uriel smiled lightly and waved her free hand in front of her. It was glowing that same blue color as the blade of Anne's Sunder. "If you want to be able to help Heaven win this war, you will need these." Anne winced in a bit of pain as her shoulder blades burst into blue flame. It hurt less than when the flames had consumed her entire form, so perhaps she had developed some sort of resistance to the pain. She looked behind her at the flames to see them lengthen and warp as they took the shape of wings. The flames dissipated and Anne stared at her new wings, which resembled the wings of the three angels before her. This meant that they weren't feathered, but rather the feathers were made of energy. Electric-like energy sparked from the wings, but it soon disappeared. She looked back at Uriel and bowed.

"Thank you, Uriel of the Hellguard," Anne said politely. Uriel smiled.

"You are a very kind soul," the angel responded. She began to ascend. Anne looked up at her and watched her leave.

"Wait," she suddenly called out. Uriel hovered in the air and looked down at her. Anne spread her hands. "Do you want me to find other angels and help them?" Uriel did not remove her gaze from her as she continued to ascend.

"It would be beneficial for us if you did that," she replied. The two angels began to follow Uriel. "Take care, child." With that, the angels sped off. Anne watched them leave. She wanted to follow them, but she knew that she would have to take another path. She moved her wings. Anne felt this to be strange. She could control her wings as she could control her arms and legs, but she did not feel bone. Rather, there was some sort of energy connection that connected the wings to her immune system. It felt strange, but it was like a substitute for bones. She knew that the wings couldn't be broken. She spread them and looked at her wingspan. It was large enough to pick her up from the ground. She took a deep breath and flapped her wings. She underestimated the power of her newfound wings, and she shot six feet into the air. She flapped her wings lightly to hover in place. She didn't really want to go any higher at this point because if, for any reason, her wings decided to give way, she would take a nasty fall. She flapped her wings slower and noticed that she was still hovering. She shrugged. It seemed like she would hover as long as she flapped her wings, no matter at what speed. However, she didn't intend to flap them any slower. She looked around. She wasn't sure where to go, so she chose to head diagonally to her right. She flapped her wings often to make sure she was in a good spot. She made sure to steer clear of rooftops. She didn't want to be killed like the angel that had made her a Hellguard member. She flew for a while before she found a group of four angels shooting at a flock of Duskwings and several Phantom Guards.

She dropped onto the nearest rooftop and hid as she drew her Hellguard Lance. She aimed at a nearby Duskwing and fired. The bat fell to the ground after taking the fatal shot. She let more shots fly, hitting more Duskwings and several Phantom Guards in the process. The angels had noticed her by now, and they were most surprised to see her. She returned the lance to her back and drew Sunder, the blade glowing with intense blue light. She jumped off the rooftop and sliced through a few demonic bats as the group of angels decimated the remaining Phantom Guards. Once the demons were all dead, Anne turned around to face the group of angels.

"Who are you? You do not look like you are from the First Kingdom," one of the angels said.

"I am Anne, a human member of the Hellguard," Anne replied truthfully. The angels kept their gaze on her. "I spoke with Uriel earlier, and she told me to help any angels that needed it."

"Uriel spoke to you?" another angel asked her. Anne nodded.

"She gave me my wings, and this," she said as she raised Sunder slightly to show the angels that it was also a gift from Uriel. The angels seemed to nod in understanding.

"I thank you for saving us," an angel said. He brought his right arm up and bent it at the elbow so that his right fist rested over his heart. Anne realized in was some sort of Hellguard salute as the other angels followed suit. Anne did the same to acknowledge their gratefulness. With that, the angels flew off. Anne flew in the direction opposite from them. She flew for a while and encountered a few demons along the way, which she simply sliced apart with her angelic blade. Eventually, she found a three-way crossroad and landed on the roof of a building just ahead. She placed Sunder on her hip and took a small break. She was about to fly off when she heard the galloping of horses. She turned in the direction of the sound, which was coming from the other side of the street on the far end. Judging from the sound, she estimated that there were more than two horses, but definitely less than six. She couldn't exactly tell. She continued to watch, and then… they appeared.

Four horses rode into the crossroad, and all of them had one rider on their backs. The interesting thing was that the horses and the riders were definitely not normal. The horse in the lead had a black body with flames leaping from its hooves. She could make out some glowing red marks on the horse's neck, and could see its fiery eyes and nostrils. Its black mane and tail seemed to give off smoke. Her eyes then shifted to the rider. He wore a red hood that covered most of his face, and he wore armor on both of his shoulders. His arms were covered in armor, though his left arm was much bigger than the other, and seemed to bear a skull in the middle of it. His upper torso was clad in a black cloth-like armor, and he had some more armor on his waist. His thighs had armor similar to the one on his right hand, and she noticed that he was wearing boots. In his right hand he held a huge sword that was as big as his horse's body. As he came near, she could see two separate locks of snow white hair that emerged from the sides of his hood and came down to his pectorals. She turned her attention to the other three riders.

There were two riders who rode side-by-side. She looked at the one to the far left. The horse was almost entirely covered in spiked silver armor, but she could make out the snow white color of its body. She could see its silvery mane and tail, and, strangely, they gave off a dark purple smoke. The same smoke, albeit darker, was also covering the horse's hooves. The horse's bright purple eyes caught her attention, but she decided to focus on its rider. The rider, she noticed, was almost entirely dressed in white armor. He had a helmet-like mask that covered his entire face, but she could see his fierce yellow eyes. She also noticed his spiky black hair, which sharply contrasted with him and his horse. He wore a mahogany scarf that trailed behind him. However, she noticed that while his arms were clad in armor, his entire upper torso, minus his silver armor-covered back, was essentially bare, revealing his somewhat reddish skin. The rest of his body was covered in white and silver armor. In his hands were two pistols, which filled Anne with a sense of fear. He could hit her from a distance if he wanted to. She dropped lower onto the rooftop and looked at the rider next to him.

The horse was the complete opposite of the armored horse. It was completely black and unarmored, and was terribly skinny. Yellow-orange vapor emerged from the horse's black mane and tail, as well as its hooves. Its bright yellow-orange eyes burned with determination as yellow-orange vapor flew from its nostrils whenever it snorted. She looked at the rider. It was a woman with pale skin, almost white in color. She had red-violet hair that flowed behind her as her black horse galloped forward. Her yellow eyes glowed with what looked like _fury_. She wore black and gold armor, though the dominant color was black. She wore a dark red cowl that was so long in the back that it resembled a scarf. She wore the same kind of dark red cloth as a simple robe at her waist that went down the front and the back. Anne noted that her black leg armor also connected to her black high heels. She also noted that the woman's index and middle fingers on her left hand were clad in golden claw armor. Her eyes shifted to the woman's right hand. In that hand, she held a gold and black staff that was about a foot long, though the end of it was open, and it burned with a bright magenta light. Anne wasn't sure what the staff was supposed to do, but rather than spending time thinking about it, she looked at the final horse that trailed behind.

The horse was incredibly pale and gray in color, and its appearance was zombie-like. Bright green orbs burned within the stallion's eye sockets, signifying that they were eyes. The horse was thin, but not as thin as the black horse with the female rider. Anne quickly noticed that the horse lacked a mane and a tail. Instead, it had a mane composed of pale green vapor, and that same vapor formed a tail at the bony protrusion at the base of the horse's spine. The same vapor also emanated from its hooves. It was similar to the other horses, so Anne then decided to inspect the rider. However, she knew this man all too well. He had a muscular build, yet his spine protruded visibly from his back as well as his collarbone and ribs. His stomach was also sunken. His flesh was pale and gray, like his horse. He wore fingerless gloves that nearly came up to his elbows. He wore dark indigo pants, and also wore boots with knee armor built into them. She decided to look at his face last, as it was the part she remembered most about him, but it was also the part about him that scared her the most. He had long black hair that went down to his shoulders while small, thin strands hung in front of his face. She could make out his orange eyes, which burned like fire. The most interesting feature about this man, however, was the characteristic skull mask that he constantly wore. The mask covered his entire face, minus his cheeks. She glanced at his right hand to find that he was holding a two-ended scythe.

"Death," Anne whispered quietly to herself. As he and his horse neared, Anne turned in the direction that the riders were headed in, and began to go in the same direction. She crossed the rooftop that she was on and leaped across the gap to reach the next building. Because she wasn't exactly hiding or even making an effort to do so, Anne knew that she would be spotted by one of the riders soon. She continued to cross rooftops without the riders noticing.

Unbeknownst to her however, Death had already noticed movement on the rooftops to his left. He looked up to see what appeared to be an angel in the Hellguard running along the rooftops, seemingly following the Horsemen. However, something was off about the angel, though he couldn't tell what it was while it was still moving. He decided to ignore it as he emerged into a clearing filled with demons. As he and his siblings began to slaughter the Hell spawn, the angel stopped at the edge of the rooftop nearest the clearing, and drew a gun. Shots were fired, eliminating several demons in the process. The Horsemen slowly began to notice the demons being killed by something other than them, and they began to shift their attention to the shooter. More demons were killed by the angel's hand before the being decided to place the gun on their back and instead drew another weapon.

Anne leaped down from the building she was on and slowed her fall with her wings as she sliced a demon in half vertically. She quickly spun around and cleaved another demon in half horizontally with Sunder before taking to the skies. She continued to slay demons with her trusty blade from above, and before she knew it, she and the riders had eliminated every last demon in the area. However, Anne quickly turned her attention to a shape in the distance, and it was closing in fast. She inhaled sharply. It was a Fallen, large demons who had been angels once, angels that had switched over to Hell's side. She tightened her grip around Sunder as the demon came closer. As soon as she could make out its face, she sped straight towards it with a mighty flap of her wings. The Fallen saw her and began to open its jaws in an attempt to devour her. Anne thrust her blade forward as she flew into the beast's gaping maw. However, things did not go well for the massive demon. Anne plowed through the back of the creature's mouth, emerging through the nape with a spray of blood. The demon groaned and fell down and forward, dead. Anne flew forward a bit more before turning around to see the demon fall before the riders. She quickly flew down to it and let gravity take over when she was close enough. She plunged Sunder into its head as she landed, the blade piercing the flesh with ease. The beast's body disappeared in a burst of red and black smoke, leaving Anne on the street with Sunder's blade touching the asphalt. She remained there for a while, not daring to move as she was in front of the riders. Finally, someone spoke.

"Who are you?" one of the riders asked. Anne recognized it as Death's voice. She looked up at him. His horse was looming over her, whinnying every so often. The Horseman stared down at her. Anne wasn't sure if he recognized her or not. Chances were he barely remembered her.

"I am Anne, a member of the Hellguard," Anne replied. The Horseman with the red hood approached her on his fiery black horse. From here, she could see his face. He had slightly pale, slightly tanned skin, and white eyes that gave off a light blue glow. The most interesting thing about him was that there was a red mark of some sort on his forehead. It began slightly below his eyes and curved up across his eyelids, she assumed, and eyebrows, which were as white as his hair. The mark then curved across his forehead and met in the middle. In the very center of the mark, a red line descended vertically and ended right in between his eyebrows. She didn't know exactly where it started because of his hood, which shaded most of his face. He was frowning, but judging from the looks of it, that was his normal facial expression. The horse snorted, and flames flew from its nostrils. The Horseman in red studied her as he placed his sword on his back.

"You may be a member of the Hellguard, but you cannot be an angel," he said in a deep, yet somewhat gentle voice. Anne stood up as Sunder retracted. She replaced the blade on her hip and stared into his pure white eyes.

"You're right," she responded. "I'm no angel."

"You are a human," Death suddenly said. The other Horseman looked at him in surprise.

"Impossible," he said. "The humans have ceased to exist nearly a hundred years ago." Death looked at him.

"And who is to say that they have not returned, War?" the Pale Rider said to the other Horseman, who was apparently named War. "Clearly, she is a human. She is human-sized, and lacks the white hair and blue, gold, or white eyes that angels possess." War remained quiet for a moment.

"I believe that Death is right," the female Horseman said from behind the two standing before Anne.

"I hope she isn't a threat of any sort," said the Horseman in white armor. He visibly tightened his grip around his pistols, which he had lowered. Anne started to tremble lightly in fear, but bit her lip to stop shaking before the Horsemen noticed. "I mean, she did just kill a Fallen without even trying." Death held up his hand.

"Peace, Strife. I do not think she will pose a threat to us," he said to the Horseman. Strife grumbled lightly. Anne was sure he didn't trust her. However, something caught Anne's eye. Something was missing from Death. Something on his chest. She remembered seeing it there when he had fought the Wailing Host in the City of the Dead, which was preventing the human souls from reaching the Well of Souls. The glowing green spot on his right pectoral was nowhere to be found.

"Your chest," she suddenly said. Death looked at her, and then looked at his chest.

"What is it?" he asked without looking back at her.

"The souls. They're not there anymore." Death quickly returned his gaze to the human and narrowed his eyes. He placed a hand on his right pectoral, where the mark had been.

"How do you know about that?" he spat, having been caught off-guard. War looked at him.

"Death, what is she talking about?" he asked. Death ignored him. Anne swallowed as she felt her jaw start to tremble. She breathed lightly to calm herself down.

"I was there when you slaughtered the Wailing Host," she explained. "I was one of the Hosts sent out to attack you. I suppose I was fortunate, because you did not kill me." She paused. Death continued to stare at her. "I… I chose not to fight you, and tried to convince others to stop trying to attack you. Maybe you'll recognize my soul." She said that last sentence with a light laugh. Death's eyes widened a bit in recognition as he removed his hand from his chest. He _did_ recognize her.

"Yes, I remember you now," he said. "I recognize your soul. Very pure." Anne shifted her feet. She was nervous. She bit her lip again as Death sat up tall and glowered down at her. "However, how did you know that there were souls in my chest?" War looked at him with concern in his eyes. Anne started to wring her fingers.

"I—I don't really know," she admitted. "But my brief time as a Host allowed me to see and hear them. I saw their faces, and I heard their threatening whispers." She noticed Death tighten his grip around the handle of his scythe. Her mouth went dry. The Pale Rider noticed the fear in her eyes. His own eyes softened a bit.

"Relax, human," he said. "None of us have any plans to kill you." Anne relaxed a bit when she saw the female Horseman flick her right wrist slightly. Anne had watched her do that the moment she entered the clearing. When she did it, the bright end of the staff roared to life and a flaming magenta whip emerged from it. When she flicked her wrist again, Anne noticed the whip simply dissipate like a candle in the wind. She breathed a small sigh of relief. She was about to ask what had happened to the souls when something clicked in her mind.

After she had been freed from the grasp of the Wailing Host, she and the other human souls went directly to the Well of Souls. However, something was wrong with the Well, because the moment she arrived, pain engulfed her. She felt weak and tired, as if something was draining her strength. She knew not what it was, but it was worse torment than being tortured by the Wailing Host's usage of her power. Whatever was draining her power was far more powerful. Salvation finally came to her and the other souls not long after their departure from the Kingdom of the Dead. From the Well, she felt a dark presence for a while, and then it was just _gone_. Afterwards, she could sense the dread of numerous other souls, but they were not yet in the Well. Not only that, but those souls were most definitely not human. They didn't sound like it. When they actually came into contact with the Well, Anne got a small glimpse of them. She suddenly realized that those souls were the same exact ones she saw within Death. Along with these souls was another, one far more powerful. When she was a Host, she felt power radiate from the Pale Rider. She recognized that power to be the same power at the Well. Seconds later, she and the other human souls spiraled into blackness, and Anne couldn't remember anything after that. Anne quickly realized that the souls had been sacrificed to ensure the return of humans.

"Sacrifice," she said quietly.

"What?" Death asked. Anne stared at the ground for a while before looking at him.

"The souls," she told him. "You sacrificed them." Death remained still for a moment, his expression unchanging. Suddenly, his orange eyes hardened, though he remained silent. Anne spread her arms in questioning. "Why? Why would you save the humans rather than the other souls?" Underneath his mask, Death opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped. He had caught a hint of hatred in her voice, especially when she said the word "humans". His eyes immediately softened. He wanted to ask her why she seemed to hate humans, but he thought better of it. That wasn't important.

"I… I had my reasons," he finally replied. "I do not regret it." Anne remained silent. He wasn't willing to share the whole story, and she had no intentions of being pushy. Anne was also about to remark that he had sacrificed himself as well, but she decided not to. She'd probably have her head severed from her neck. She spread her wings and wrapped her fingers around Sunder's hilt, though she had no intentions of removing it from her hip at that moment.

"My being here has wasted your time," she said. "You have your duty, and I have mine. I was tasked with helping other angels, and that is what I will do." Before she could take to the skies, the female Horseman approached her.

"You may have armor and weapons child, but you must be careful," she said kindly. "There are many demons lurking about on this broken world."

"Enough, Fury. You'll scare her," Strife said with a cruel laugh. Fury glared at him for a moment.

"I'll be fine," Anne said confidently. She didn't want to look afraid, even though she was. The Black Rider looked back at her, concerned. She opened her mouth to speak again, but she was interrupted by Death.

"Very well. May our paths never cross again," he said as he looked at the human, pity somewhat visible in his eyes. Anne nodded once.

"Farewell." She spread her wings and shot into the air. She sped away at high speed in a random direction. She did not want to encounter the Horsemen again. The fear she felt… Anne cleared her thoughts. The Horsemen may have been intimidating, but she knew better. They did not want to cause any harm to her. Nonetheless, seeing them filled her with a sense of dread and terror, because she knew that any one of them would be able to kill her easily if they wanted to. She had no intention of dying again. She had work to do, and, above that, Anne had a personal mission that she longed to accomplish since her death. She promised herself that she would achieve it.


	5. Death Lives

_**Another chapter with the Horsemen! This chapter essentially summarizes the story of Darksiders 2, so there are spoilers aplenty. The title of this chapter is also named after the subtitle of Darksiders 2 (Death Lives). The next chapter will once again focus on Anne, and the rest of the story will continue to alternate until Chapter 12. **_

* * *

The Horsemen watched the human fly off at jet speed.

"Death, what was that about?" War suddenly asked as he slowly turned his gaze to his brother. Death did not answer, and simply kept staring at the shrinking image of the human. He felt a hand grab his left shoulder. Death quickly glanced over at War, who had done that to earn his attention. Death could see determination and worry in his eyes. He also saw rage. He wanted to know what the Pale Rider had been up to. Strife laughed behind them.

"I think you've got some explaining to do," he said mockingly. Death scowled, but sighed afterwards.

"Very well," he said. "I'll tell you what happened after I met the Crowfather." Death ordered Despair to turn around fully to face all three Horsemen. "When I met him, he had gone mad." He paused. "Do you remember that, after we killed the Nephilim, I never destroyed their souls?"

"Of course," Fury said. "I also remember that you gave the amulet that the souls were trapped in to the Crowfather himself." Death nodded.

"Yes, the voices of the souls drove the Old One to madness. He refused to aid me unless I destroyed the souls."

"But you couldn't," War said. "You didn't have the heart to." Death looked at him.

"He chose to try to kill me by taking your form, War," the Pale Rider told his brother. War's expression did not change, but there was shock in his eyes. Death sighed. "I had no choice but to kill him. However, the amulet was broken amidst the battle, and its shards embedded themselves into my chest." Death touched the spot on his right pectoral where the souls had once been. "I don't remember what happened after that, but I was taken to the Forge Lands. I met Eidard there."

"Ah, good old Eidard. How does he fare?" Strife asked. Death realized that Strife and the Makers had a strong alliance. He figured he would ask him about it later. In the meantime, he chose to ignore his brother's question, and waved a hand to dismiss it. Strife figured that Death would talk about him later. "I found Tri-Stone, and it was there that I had to help the Makers get their forge in working order again. I succeeded, and, after awakening a Warden, I was allowed access to the Foundry."

"Wait," War interrupted. Death looked at him again. "I thought you were seeking the Tree of Life?"

"I was," Death replied. "But the way was blocked by Corruption. The Makers told me that the most powerful of their constructs, the Guardian, was the only thing capable of destroying it."

"I assume that you had to awaken it?" Fury asked inquisitively. Death nodded.

"I managed to awaken it with the help of the Maker Karn," he said. Strife laughed. Death realized that he knew him.

"You got help from the pup?" he said mockingly. "Now that's something. Well, at least he's useful. He can be surprisingly helpful."

"Yes, he can," Death sighed somewhat sadly. "Unfortunately, one of the Heart Stones required to awaken the Guardian was corrupted, and the construct went mad. I had no choice but to destroy it."

"But the Guardian was the only way you could reach the Tree," Fury said. "How was the Corruption cleared?" Death paused for a long time. He did not answer. A slow realization came to Strife. His voice hardened.

"Eidard," he said in a dark voice. "Eidard would have the power to bring back constructs." Death looked at him with a guilty look in his eyes.

"Eidard had taken a blow from the Guardian moments before I fought and killed it," he explained. "He was very weak; he… he sacrificed himself to restore the Guardian, which would be Corruption-free." Strife looked down at the ground. He had just learned that he had lost a good friend. Death felt helpless.

"His final words were to tell me to get to the Tree," he said softly. Strife didn't move. Death politely cleared his throat. "The Guardian destroyed the Corruption, but at the cost of its own life. I was then able to arrive at the Tree of Life."

"What happened when you arrived?" War asked.

"Corruption took me. I spoke with Absalom, who revealed himself to be Corruption. After that, I awoke in the Kingdom of the Dead."

"Wait," Strife instantly said. He looked up. "How did you get to the Kingdom of the Dead?"

"The Tree took me there," Death replied. Strife stared at him, confused.

"Are you saying that the Tree of Life is a portal?" he asked. Death nodded. Strife remained still for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "How come none of us knew about this?" Death threw his head back and laughed lightly.

"I asked myself the same question," he said as he took a breath. "A merchant met me at the Tree and told me the answer; us Horsemen weren't allowed to learn about the truth behind it because 'power must be tempered with ignorance'. The Charred Council feared that if the Nephilim were to learn that truth, every race would have fallen." War looked offended. A fiery rage burned in his glowing eyes. He scowled.

"We have served the Council for millennia, and still they do not trust us?!" he spat furiously. Death understood his rage. The Council had made him suffer in these recent days after all. He held up a hand.

"Peace, brother," he said softly. "Nonetheless, I was told by the merchant to seek out the Lord of Bones, as he would help me on my quest."

"I thought your quest was finding the Tree?" Fury said suddenly. Death looked at her.

"The merchant told me that what I truly sought was the Well of Souls," he answered. Death noticed a change in War's expression. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he never did. Death continued on with his tale. "Before I could speak with the Dead King, however, I had to earn my meeting with him, which I did. After having to complete a task for the king himself, he sent me to the City of the Dead to find a soul who had knowledge of the Well. However, the merchant told me that the City had gone silent, as the souls who constantly wail and scream had just decided to stop."

"What happened?" Strife asked.

"A creature had trapped human souls within itself so that they could not go to the Well and be reborn," he answered.

"The Wailing Host," War suddenly said in realization. Death nodded.

"I slew the beast and set the souls of humanity free before finding this soul." Death stopped for a moment. "The Lord of Bones had sent me to find the Crowfather." War laughed lightly.

"I reckon that he was no longer mad, and that you found him in his true state?" he said, amused. Death scoffed in amusement.

"Of course, War. He was dead, and thus free from his torment. Nonetheless, the Crowfather told me that I truly needed to go to the Well of Souls because humanity was now being tormented further by something drawing power from the Well."

"Did you ever find out what it was?" Fury asked.

"I did," War suddenly answered before Death could. The Pale Rider looked at him curiously. "It was the Destroyer." Death sighed in response.

"I'm not surprised," he said as he waved his hand to dismiss the subject. "The Crowfather then told me that I needed a key to enter the Well, a key that was split in two. One of the keys was in the possession of the angels, and the other key was in the possession of the demons. I was able to retrieve both keys, with difficulty of course."

"So you were able to make it to the Well then?" Strife asked.

"Yes," Death replied. "I encountered Absalom there, as Corruption had taken root in that place. However, I managed to kill Absalom and stop the Corruption."

"Then what did you do?" Fury asked him. "You were at the Well. I suspect that reaching the Well of Souls was not your _true_ goal." Death looked at her. He rolled his shoulders back.

"The Well was my true goal," he said. "But I didn't go there just to look at it."

"You went there to bring back humanity," War said, surprised. "Why?" Death looked at him with a look of determination.

"I had to find a way to prove your innocence, that you were not responsible for mankind's extinction," he ultimately replied. "I sacrificed the souls of the Nephilim, including my _own_ soul, to return the Third Kingdom." The other Horsemen stared at Death in shock.

"Then…," War began. "Then, you ceased to exist?" Death nodded.

"I suppose it was a good thing that the final seal was broken," he said with a light laugh. Suddenly, he pointed at the Red Rider with his scythe. "But now, I want to hear _your_ story." War opened his mouth to speak, but he was unable to utter a word. Two Stalkers, a Suffering, a Shield Lord, an Undead General and a Conscript spawned around the Horsemen, trapping them within the circle they formed. The Horsemen were unsure of what to do. Their horses stamped their hooves in frustration and uncertainty.

Suddenly, a dark purple smoke began to radiate from the Pale Rider. He split his scythe into two and placed them on his hips quickly. He then lifted his right hand up to the sky and turned his head to look behind him. The Stalker he looked at growled and prepared to lunge. Death brought his hand down quickly, as if he was slamming his hand down on something. The Stalker lunged, its fanged maw wide open. Before it could get very far however, a large scythe with the imprint of several skulls on it impaled the hellish beast through the nape, causing it to collapse on the ground. Death quickly brought his hand back up, causing the scythe to slide out of the hole in the dead Stalker's neck. The Pale Rider then looked forward at the Suffering and threw his hand towards the demon. The Suffering roared, but was quickly impaled by Harvester. The scythe pinned the creature's corpse to the ground as Death leaped off of Despair's saddle, the horse fading into the ground in a burst of green vapor. As he flew through the air, he began to do a frontal flip. When his fingers closed around the handle of the scythe, the smoke about him thickened, obscuring his form. By the time the Horseman completed his acrobatic maneuver and landed on his feet, he had forcibly yanked the scythe out of the Suffering and had changed in appearance. Large bony wings broke through the thinning purple smoke and cleared it, revealing Death in his Reaper Form.

As soon as he revealed himself, Death quickly spun to his side, cleaving the second Stalker in half horizontally. The Reaper continued to spin around until he turned a three-sixty, and immediately flung Harvester towards the Undead General. The scythe shattered the electric creature's shield and impaled it through the stomach. The General roared in agony and began to weakly grab the handle of Death's special scythe.

"I think we should move back," Strife said as he commanded Pain to move backwards and away from the fight. The other Horsemen followed his lead just as Death's form ripped apart into a tornado of purple smoke and bones. The deadly tornado ripped across the asphalt and headed towards the dying Undead General and the Shield Lord next to it. The Shield Lord brought its shield up as Death approached, but the defensive weapon was simply ripped to shreds and the Shield Lord itself followed. Blood rained around the area where the now shredded Shield Lord had once stood as Death's form reassembled itself. He grabbed Harvester's handle and yanked it out of the Undead General's midsection. The beast fell to the ground. Death turned his attention to the Conscript, who was frozen with fear. Death paused for a moment before severing the Conscript's upper torso from its legs, killing it. Death spread his bony wings and flapped them, shooting into the sky as a result. As he rose, the smoke thickened and hid his form once more. Suddenly, gravity took over and the figure began to fall as Despair reemerged from the ground. Death landed on his horse's saddle as the smoke cleared, revealing him to be in his usual state once more. He tossed his head back and sighed.

"I haven't done that since I killed Absalom," he said with a slight laugh. However, three Rot Maulers, two Berserkers and a Trauma also appeared at the same time. The demons crawled out from the summoning seals on the ground and began to advance towards the Horsemen. War smirked cruelly.

"My turn," he said as he charged towards the small army of demons on Ruin. When he was close enough, he leaped off of Ruin's back and glowed in a red aura as the phantom horse disappeared into the earth in a burst of fire. The aura intensified as War sailed through the air. He closed his eyes and unleashed Chaos. His form burst into flame and warped itself until he took on a new form. He grabbed Chaoseater, which was also different in appearance, from his back and held it so that the tip of the blade pointed down at the ground. With a loud roar, War dropped onto the ground, stabbing the street with Chaoseater and unleashing a shockwave of fire. The Rot Maulers were incinerated instantly. The Berserkers were sent flying in separate directions, both of them with severe burns on their bodies. The Trauma was pushed back with minor burns. The hulking demon looked up at the equally sized foe before it. War, who was on one knee, rose up to face the Trauma and pulled his flaming sword from the ground. This fiery beast looked nothing like War. It looked more like a Fallen, though it had tiny wings, was on fire, and wielded a sword. Yet, it was War. It was War's Chaos Form.

The Trauma roared at the Horseman. War growled and roared back as he charged towards the demon. However, he underestimated the speed of the beast. It swiped its left hand out in front of it and to its left as War neared, hitting the Horseman's right hand and knocking Chaoseater away. War stumbled backwards as the Trauma quickly brought its hand back in a reaction to being burned. War hissed and punched the demon's face, burning and breaking it. The Trauma screeched as it stumbled backwards, but War was quick to attack it again, this time smashing his horns against the beast's chest. He heard the satisfying crack of several ribs, and the demon dropped to its knees. War performed a small hop over to his sword and quickly wrapped his clawed fingers around its hilt. War then leaped into the air and dropped back down, impaling the Trauma through the back of the head this time. He pulled his sword out just as the two Berserkers began to rush at him.

As War turned to face them, he knocked one away with his flaming tail. Seemingly oblivious to what he just did, War faced one of the Berserkers and raised his sword above his head. The Berserker in turn roared and raised his axe as he half-ran, half-limped towards the great flaming demonic War. The Red Rider smashed his sword against the ground, cleaving the small burly demon in half vertically and unleashing another shockwave of fire. War laughed, though it came out as a low growl instead. He turned towards the Berserker that he had knocked aside. The Berserker remained unmoving, its body mangled, broken and burned. War dropped to one knee and stared at the demon. The demon stared back weakly. It was dying. War laughed again. He closed his left hand into a fist and raised his arm up slightly. Suddenly, with a roar, War punched the ground and his body exploded in a torrent of fire. The dying Berserker was utterly vaporized as a result. When the smoke cleared, War rose up, now back in his normal form. He placed Chaoseater on his back and summoned Ruin. He rode back towards his siblings.

"You were always one to overdo things," Death told him as he rode up next to him. War stared at him and smiled lightly.

"I feel like we should keep riding now," Strife said as he tightly gripped both of his pistols. "If we stay here, more demons might show up. A lot more." War looked at him and nodded once before turning in the direction that Pain and Torment were facing and riding off. The other Horsemen followed suit, their weapons at the ready.


	6. Safety and Sacrifice

Anne flew for a while, not knowing what to do. She hadn't found anymore angels in need of help, and she hadn't found any demons to kill either. Nonetheless, she eventually found several demons surrounding a building with wooden boards on its windows and on the door for added protection. However, what she saw was odd. The demons were attacking the building. Anne figured that there was something inside, but it couldn't be an angel. They wouldn't hide. Realization came to her. There were _humans_ in that building. Anne couldn't just stay where she was and watch. She had to help them. She drew her Hellguard Lance and picked off a few demons with several shots. Before long, the demons began to ignore the building and instead turned their attention to her. That was exactly what she wanted. She placed the holy gun on her back and drew Sunder. She smiled proudly as the demons roared at her from below. She flew down and began to do battle.

Meanwhile, the humans within the building were listening to the commotion outside. Moments ago, the demons were banging on the windows and on the door with the intent of getting inside and killing them all. Now, they could hear awful screams as those same demons were slain. Soon, the clashing began to diminish. They finally heard the sound of a body being impaled, and then crumpling to the ground. The humans hoped it was a demon. Suddenly, they screamed as a bloodstained blade pierced the door. However, this blade had a calming blue glow to it, so they assumed that it was not a demon. They were right. The blade cut a large rectangle in the door, but the piece did not fall. Instead, there was a pause. Suddenly, the piece shattered as it flew backwards and into the room. Standing at the makeshift doorway was their salvation.

Anne stood there with her left arm extended, her fist having just made contact with the door in an effort to open it. She drew her arm back and lowered it, as she sheathed Sunder and placed it on her hip. She walked inside. The humans looked at her in surprise, though a few still trembled in fear. She looked around. She saw about ten to fifteen people there, huddled together.

"Is everyone alright?" she asked kindly. They nodded silently. A small child looked up at her.

"You're not an angel," he said. Anne laughed.

"No, I'm not," she said. "I'm just like you." She looked around the room again, though this time she felt a tinge of recognition. She had been here before. No, she had _stayed_ here before. She walked over to a corner of the room full of debris. A broken desk lay upon the debris. Yes, this was it. Anne moved the desk out of the way and cleared the debris. As a result, she revealed a trapdoor. She slipped her fingers underneath the door. This would have been difficult to open normally, but with her Hellguard armor, she had no need to worry about slicing her fingers open or getting splinters. She lifted her arms up and forcibly opened the trapdoor. She could see a ladder leading down into the darkness. The other humans crowded around to see. She motioned towards the opening.

"This leads to an underground shelter," she said. "When you get down, wait for me to join you." A person glared at her.

"Why the hell should we trust you?" he asked in an agitated fashion. Anne bit her tongue to not be violent towards him.

"Because I just saved your damn lives," she replied bitterly. "Now get moving, before more demons show up." The people obeyed and quickly made their way down the ladder. Anne waited for the last person to get significantly far down the ladder before getting on the ladder herself and climbing down some. She spread her wings and began to hover in place as she grabbed the trapdoor and forcibly brought it down to tightly close it. She lowered herself to the ground slowly. Her wings gave off a faint light, allowing her to see her surroundings while letting the humans see her. However, she drew Sunder for a bit of extra light. When she did so however, several of the humans flinched. Anne looked at them apologetically.

"Don't worry, I don't intend to kill you," she coaxed. She then turned towards the darkest end of the tunnel and held out Sunder. "Follow me. Stay close," she said without looking back. She started to walk. The humans followed. Eventually, they came to an area with more light. Anne sheathed Sunder and kept walking as she replaced it on her hip. They came to a large open space that was decently lit. Anne walked it. The space was empty. She turned towards the humans and motioned for them to enter.

"This is the shelter?" someone asked. Anne nodded.

"Demons won't be able to get in unless they use the trapdoor," she said. "In case any of you need to go out to retrieve supplies like food or water, make sure you always close the trapdoor." She suddenly spread her wings. "And always, _always_ make sure you go in _groups_." The humans looked at her in understanding.

"So, you won't stay here with us?" a woman asked. Anne shook her head.

"No. I have to go find other people, and I have taken up a duty to help any angels that need it," she answered. "However, I will make sure to bring any other people I find to this place. There's always strength in numbers." She turned to leave. As she walked out of the area, a young boy ran over to her.

"Be careful," he said. Anne looked down at him and smiled.

"I will," she said softly. She turned to face the exit, but before she could take a step, the child grabbed her hand. She looked at him in amusement. The boy remained silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Thank you for helping us," he said. "You're my angel." Anne's expression turned to surprise. She turned around fully so that she was facing him. She placed her free hand on his head.

"You're welcome," she said quietly, though loud enough for him to hear. She slowly slipped her hand out from his and walked off into the dark tunnel. She eventually found the ladder with Sunder's magnificent light and flew up to the trapdoor. Again, she forced the trapdoor open and quickly drew Sunder, just in case. Seeing no demons nearby, Anne flew out into the room and shut the trapdoor, leaving it firmly and securely sealed. She walked out of the building through the rectangular hole in the door and took to the skies. She killed some stray demons that were out on the street, but she was unable to find any angels or humans. However, as the number of demons drastically decreased, Anne felt that something was wrong. There was something else nearby, something much worse. She turned at the next intersection she came to and emerged in a large open space. Anne landed. She looked about the empty area. Had the Horsemen passed by this area? Suddenly, a horrible laugh sounded from somewhere behind her. Faster than even she could blink, Anne had turned around to face the creature with Sunder in her hand, its blade glowing a bright, yet angry blue.

"I have heard much about you," the armored Phantom Guard said. "The sole human among the Hellguard. You have killed many of my brethren." Anne scowled.

"I wouldn't have killed your fellow demons if they weren't on Earth," she growled in response. She studied the demon as she spoke. He was definitely a Phantom Guard, though he was slightly taller and wore a reddish bone-like armor. He held a huge axe in his right hand. He also had flaming blue-green hair on the top of his head. Despite the differences, he was still just as grotesque. The demon laughed.

"We demons have a right to be on your world, human," he said, amused. "It was Hell's special trophy for winning the Endwar." Anne straightened up. Anger surged through her.

"Hell already has _Hell_," she responded angrily, though with a calm tone. "And Hell has not won the Endwar if there are still angels about." The oversized Phantom Guard waved his hand, as if that didn't matter.

"We will kill the rest of the angels. It is not that difficult," he said, a horrible smile on his face. "Even though you are not an angel, you are a human. And I'm sure you know what happens to humans when a demon finds and corners them." He laughed cruelly. He raised his axe. Anne's heart began to race. Her body started twitching as her instincts told her to defend herself. The demon charged. Anne was able to dodge to the side just as the beast swung his axe down. The blade smashed into the area where the human had been standing as Anne rolled to her feet. With a growl, the Phantom Guard raised his axe up again and turned to look at her. He smirked.

"Do you really think you could best a Phantom General?" he asked as he turned his body towards her. Anne held up Sunder. She bared her teeth.

"I do," she replied. "And I'll make sure that your end is swift." The demon's wicked smile melted into an enraged frown. With a loud growl, he slammed his axe against the asphalt next to him and roared at Anne, a wave of heat flying from his mouth along with several embers. He charged at her again, his axe dragging on the ground, causing sparks to fly. As he neared, he quickly raised his weapon and swung it across his body in an attempted to sever the human's head. Anne quickly dropped to the ground as the blade passed overhead, missing her face by mere inches. From this position, she rolled to the side, swinging Sunder at the demon's legs as she moved. Unfortunately, the Phantom General wasn't stupid. He jumped up as the heavenly blade passed underneath. The ground around him shook a little when he landed. He growled at Anne, who was already on her feet. He roared again and took a swing with his axe. Anne hadn't expected the blade to come so close. She quickly moved back, the axe just barely missing her sternum. She took a step back to stabilize herself, but she underestimated the demon's speed. He was already upon her and was swinging his axe down vertically. Anne made a last minute dodge, but she was unable to fully perform it in time. The blade cut cleanly through her wing, severing it from her armored body. Because the wing was never physically attached, it didn't cause as much pain as she thought. However, it was still excruciatingly painful. She felt the "energy link" get cut, and pain surged throughout her body. She screamed as she dropped to the ground. The demon laughed and readied his axe.

However, before he could swing it down, Anne attacked him in fury. She rolled onto her back and swung Sunder up as she did so. The demon roared in agony as his left arm was cleanly severed at the elbow. The limb went flying as the Phantom General staggered backwards, blood pouring from his wound. Anne rolled to her feet and glared at the demon. He stopped and looked at what was left of his arm. He turned his attention back to Anne. He laughed, but Anne could tell that it was a laugh of rage. The beast tightened his grip around the hilt of his axe. He wanted to finish this. Anne tightened her grip around Sunder's hilt. They both charged at each other. The axe swung down. Sunder was thrust forward. Everything was still for a moment. Suddenly, the demon coughed. Anne winced and hissed in pain. Then everything happened. The demon dropped his axe and collapsed to the ground, Sunder embedded in his gut. Anne's other wing fell to the ground, having been severed like the first. Anne stayed on the ground for a moment to let the pain subside. When it did, she went over to the dying demon. A pool of blood had begun to form underneath his body. Anne reached out and grabbed Sunder's hilt before forcibly pulling it from the Phantom General. She sheathed it and returned it to her hip. She glowered down at him as he coughed up blood. Suddenly, he started laughing.

"How could I have been bested by a mere human?" he asked himself in a raspy voice. "How weak I was. Stupid." Anne remained quiet. He looked up at her. "What did you hope to accomplish, human?" Again, Anne remained silent. The demon grinned sadistically. "You only succeeded in losing your precious wings." An unnatural anger overtook Anne. She quickly dropped to one knee and wrapped her fingers around the beast's thick neck. She squeezed it tightly and raised his head up so that it was closer to hers. She brought her own face near his, a fiery rage burning in her eyes.

"To hell with you, damn bastard," she hissed furiously. The demon coughed from a lack of air and from choking on his own blood. Still, he maintained his smile.

"I have never seen such rage in a human before," he said with difficulty. With lightning speed, he placed his remaining hand on her left shoulder. Anne glanced down at his hand, which had burst into flame. She tightened her grip around the demon's neck in retaliation. The demon coughed and wheezed, but his hand ultimately dropped from her shoulder and the fire about it ceased to burn. "Death would've been the better option for you," he said silently.

"Your rage will eat your humanity away…" His voice trailed off as the warmth of life left him. Anne released the demon's neck, allowing the corpse to fall to the ground completely. She grabbed her left shoulder and looked down at it. She felt a burning sensation on her skin. Suddenly, the shoulder burst into flames. This was not like the blue flames that had come from the angel that she had seen die. No, this was pure hellfire, and it was the worst pain Anne had faced yet. The pain was so intense that she could not scream. Rather, she staggered around as the fire spread and consumed her form. She dropped to her knees, and then placed her hands on the ground. She could have sworn that she saw the armor change, growing claws where her fingernails were. However, she remembered nothing more after that, for she had succumbed to the pain and lost consciousness.


	7. Conquest and Famine

_**Since Death and War's Reaper and Chaos Forms, respectively, have been revealed, why not reveal the alternate forms of Strife and Fury? Also, why not reveal a melee weapon for Strife? Just another chapter where the Horsemen do some more fighting.**_

* * *

The Horsemen rode, unchallenged, through the city. Since their encounter with the horde of demons that forced Death and War to take their Reaper and Chaos Forms, respectively, not one demon had showed up before the Riders.

"Where are all the demons?" Strife asked in complaint. "Don't tell me that they all ran away." Fury shot him a glare.

"What fun do you find in killing them, Strife?" she asked, annoyed. He looked at her, a cocky look in his eyes. He pointed both of his pistols up to the sky.

"I don't know. They're fun to kill though, and my Mercy and Redemption get a little exercise in the process," he said as he grinned widely, though it was hidden by his mask. Fury sighed hopelessly. Suddenly, War stopped. Ruin reared up on his back legs and neighed loudly. The Red Rider promptly placed Chaoseater on his back and drew his own Mercy instead.

"Do you sense more enemies coming?" Death asked as he neared him. War didn't answer as Ruin returned to standing on all fours. He stamped his hooves aggressively.

"A small army is about to show up," War finally replied. "All around us." The Horsemen turned so that all of them were facing a different direction. Moments later, War's prediction came true. Numerous Phantom Guards and Prowlers spawned and roared at the Riders. To make matters worse, a handful of Devastators also spawned. The bulky demons were all armed with Fracture Cannons, all of which were ready to fire. One of the Devastators took a step. With lightning speed, War aimed Mercy at it and fired once. The demon's chest was pierced by four bullets, killing it instantly. The demon groaned and collapsed to the ground, the Fracture Cannon rolling out of its hands and onto the asphalt. The other demons charged as the remaining Devastators fired their Fracture Cannons.

The Horsemen were forced to keep moving in order to avoid the exploding shards fired by the demonic weapons. Death, Fury and Strife all split up and went in separate directions while War charged straight at the Fracture Cannon dropped by the Devastator he shot. When he neared the demonic grenade launcher, he leaped off of Ruin's saddle and landed next to the gun just as the last bit of his horse faded into the ground. War picked up the Fracture Cannon and immediately aimed it at a small group of demons. He smiled cruelly as he fired a volley of explosive shards at them. Some of the shards embedded themselves in the demons' flesh, burning them. They tried to desperately claw the shard out, but they ultimately exploded before they could, tearing their bodies apart in a shower of charred limbs and blood. War laughed quietly as he charged towards several more demons and fired at them. Explosions happened all around him, but he didn't care. Unfortunately, that almost got him hurt. A Devastator turned its attention to the Red Rider and aimed carefully at him. It fired a shot. However, Strife noticed this.

"Damn it, War," he muttered as he fired a shot from Redemption at the shard. He was able to successfully hit the shard, causing it to explode early. However, War was too close to the explosion, so he was thrown forward violently as a result. He managed to land on his feet with difficulty before looking back at the smoke clearing behind him. He saw Strife raise his gun, indicating that the explosion had been his work. The White Rider then proceeded to fire a shot from that same gun into the head of the Devastator that had attempted to injure and kill his brother. War smirked in thanks before running towards another group of demons. The only problem was that the demons seemed to be endlessly spawning. Strife had had his share of killing demons, and was actually starting to get annoyed. He growled under his breath as he shot several more demons. A flaming magenta whip zoomed right past him and wrapped itself around a demon, consuming it in magenta flame. The whip was then quickly brought back, taking the demon with it until the semi-sentient weapon released it and instead sent its still burning body flying through the air. Fury came up next to Strife.

"What, is killing demons getting too difficult?" she asked mockingly. Strife laughed.

"The more we kill, the more show up," he said lightly. "Plus, Mercy and Redemption have had their share of killing." At this, he holstered his pistols and held up his right hand. Fury widened her eyes.

"Is it Ripper's turn?" she asked in surprise. Strife looked at her, a cruel look in his eyes.

"You're damn right," he said with sadistic glee. Suddenly, a green vapor swirled around his hand before bursting into green flame. The flame then molded itself into a weapon, and then dispersed, revealing a new weapon in the White Rider's hand. It was a ball with three claw-like spikes on the end of it. The spiked ball was also attached to a handle fit for Strife's hands. The entire weapon was black and silver, like War's Chaoseater and Death's Harvester, and also like those weapons, it had the visage of skulls along the ball. Some of the skull's eye sockets glowed green, reminiscent of how Chaoseater's skull marks would glow red sometimes or Harvester's skull marks would glow purple. Strife kept Ripper up in the air as he rode towards several demons. He glanced at his weapon. It was short enough to be used in hand-to-hand combat, something Strife wasn't planning on doing now. When he was significantly close to the demons, he quickly dropped his right arm. This action also resulted in the ball detaching from the handle, though both parts of the mace were connected by a chain. As soon as Ripper lengthened, Strife urged Pain to turn away from the demons and swung his right arm, thus swinging Ripper as well.

The claws shredded the demons to bloody ribbons while the chain caught those who were unfortunate enough to be in its path and were thus violently bisected. As Ripper continued to swing around, Strife spotted a Devastator in his path. Grinning widely underneath his mask, he leaped off of Pain's saddle and soared through the air. His armored horse charged in a different direction, plowing through all the demons in his path while turning into dark purple fire and disappearing into the ground. The Devastator heard the clanking of a chain above and behind him, so it turned around to find it. It was met with the view of the White Rider descending upon him, swinging his mace down at him. The demon was sliced apart by the claws, which then hit the asphalt just seconds before Strife touched the ground. He looked up at a Phantom Guard standing before him. The demon snarled. Strife laughed lightly.

"Pitiful," he said to himself as he swung Ripper at it. However, the demon was surprisingly quick, as it hopped backwards to avoid the lethal claws. Strife's eyes suddenly gleamed with a twisted delight as he slightly flicked his wrist when Ripper hit the ground. The clanking of chains was heard as the claws, unbeknownst to the Phantom Guard, separated from the ball with the use of chains. Strife swung his arm again. The demon growled, but was unprepared for what happened next. The claws swung on their own chains and were now in range of hitting the soldier demon. The beast was ultimately sliced to pieces. Strife laughed a quiet, sadistic laugh. He stood tall and looked at all of the demons around him and his siblings. He flicked his wrist again, though a little harder this time. The claws retracted and reattached themselves to the ball while the ball did the same and reattached itself to the handle. Suddenly, Strife's body began to give off a light green flame.

"What these demons need," he muttered to himself. "Is a Tyrant." The flames about him intensified and burned brightly. Several demons nearby noticed this change in the White Rider and looked at him in confusion. Some of them charged. Strife eyed them all. He snickered. Suddenly, he leaped into the air and his entire body was consumed by green fire. He soared higher into the air, as if he was flying. Suddenly, a green fireball of death came crashing back down. The demons never saw it coming. The impact shook the battlefield and everyone, Horseman and demon alike, stopped fighting momentarily. Death had a look of shock on his face.

"Impossible," he said to himself. "He's going to use his Tyrant Form." From the smoke, a burning figure appeared. When the smoke cleared, a new being stood in the crater. It was a beast composed entirely of green fire, and wore silver and white armor. It had flaming claws and a medium-length flaming tail. Horns were built into the armor on his head. The creature's face was reminiscent of a skull, with the nose and fanged mouth being a dark green color. Its eyes burned a fierce yellow. In its right hand, it held its beloved Ripper. Strife was in his Tyrant Form. The constant sadistic smile he had on his flaming green face unnerved several demons. They shied away and tried to search for escape routes. Strife noticed everything. He laughed a raspy but cruel laugh. He took a step. Then he took another. He started to run. Unfortunately for the demons, he was fast. _Very _fast. He sliced demons apart with Ripper and his own claws, or burned them with blasts of flame from his free hand. He roared at the demons as the flames on his back manifested into insectoid wings. With these wings, he was able to take flight, though temporarily, and reach other demons quicker. As he slew demons, Fury spotted a massive flock of Duskwings headed towards the area. She narrowed her eyes.

"I'll leave the demons to Strife," she said to herself, a hint of anger for the demons in her voice. "But the Duskwings are _mine_." A faint yellow-orange vapor started emanating from her body. Suddenly, Strife incinerated a demon before dropping to one knee, his wings dissipating. War was staring directly at him. He inhaled sharply. He knew what he was about to do. He stepped away from his brother slowly to make sure that he was significantly far away. The remaining demons closed in around Strife. The two remaining Devastators aimed their Fracture Cannons at him. They both fired one shot at him, the shards embedding themselves in the ground. Strife looked up, a cruel look on his face. His grin visibly widened. He growled with glee. Suddenly, as the shards exploded, Strife's form split apart into tiny green and silver-white insects. None of the insects were harmed in the explosions, and they took out their fury on the demons.

They swarmed around the demons and crawled inside of them through the pores on their skin, their noses, their ears, or their mouths. The demons were infected with a vicious plague that killed them in seconds. The Devastators were also quickly annihilated, but not before they fired several desperate shards at the deadly bugs. The infected demons collapsed to the ground, their bodies so thin that they looked like skeletons with a layer of skin over them. Their eyes were milky white and leaking blood. Blood also seeped from their noses, ears and mouths. The lethal plague stormed through the demons, killing every last one of them painfully. When the last demon fell, the bugs reunited and reformed Strife's flaming body, who still had one knee on the ground. With a groan, his form dispersed into bugs again, but these bugs faded into black smoke and ultimately revealed Strife's true form underneath. Strife stood up as Ripper faded into green smoke. He leaned backwards to stretch his back.

"Ah, that felt good," he said as he stretched and then returned to his normal stance. However, the Duskwings had entered the battlefield at that very moment, screeching to alert the Horsemen of their presence. War shot one down with the Fracture Cannon before ultimately abandoning the grenade launcher and instead jumped up to another Duskwing. He grabbed a hold of its face with his left hand and drew Chaoseater with his other hand. He quickly stabbed the bat-like demon through the nape and then proceeded to slice it in half vertically. He released the dead demon and dropped to the ground. Strife sighed.

"Damn it, I thought we were done!" he cried out as he drew his pistols. However, before he could fire a shot, Fury leaped off of Torment, who sank into the ground in a burst of yellow-orange vapor. The yellow-orange vapor surrounding the Black Rider thickened and hid her form as she spiraled into the air. Instead of falling however, large bat-like wings spread out from behind the vapor and cleared it, revealing Fury to be in a new form. She wore no armor, but almost resembled a Duskwing. There were several differences that would tell her apart from one of the aerial demons, however.

The Duskwings inspected their new enemy. It was an incredibly thin creature, its bones and joints all easily visible from behind its flesh. It had sharp golden claws and talons. Its large wings had membranes that extended to the middle of its long whip-like tail. It had hair made entirely of fire, and had huge bat-like ears. There were four small horns on its head, meant to give it a more demonic appearance. Its face was skull-like, but its fanged jaws were massive. Yellow-orange smoke emerged from behind the beast's fangs and from its hungry yellow eyes. Unbeknownst to the Duskwings, they were facing Fury's Ravenous Form.

She unleashed a hideous screech as Hunger, her whip, roared to life. The magenta flame burned with an angry light, and now possessed fiery barbs. She tore the oversized bats apart with Hunger and her own claws and talons. She tore through their flesh with her own fangs as well. With each hit that the Duskwings received from the flaming barbed whip, it was as if they were sucked dry of everything. Their strength was sapped by Hunger, leaving them in a skeletal, decrepit and dead state. With just a few hits, the whole massive flock of Duskwings were eliminated. Fury growled as her whip dissipated and she wrapped her wings around herself while tucking her body in. When she spread her wings again, she was in her normal state once more, and her wings faded into yellow-orange vapor. As she fell, Torment rose from the ground, and she landed on his saddle as he fully emerged. She placed Hunger on her hip and combed her hair back with her fingers.

"Too easy," she said, unimpressed with herself. War smirked at her.

"Not bad," he said as he summoned and mounted Ruin. "It's a shame you killed them quickly." Fury looked at him.

"Why would I want to waste my time like that?" she questioned. War shrugged.

"Seems fitting, I suppose," he replied. Death rode up next to them on Despair.

"We should probably keep moving," he said, a tone of warning noticeable in his voice. "If we stay, we might face worse demons."

"For once, I agree with him," Strife chimed in as he rode up to them on Pain. Death glanced at the White Rider. His orange eyes seemed to make him look pleased. War turned in the direction that they were originally heading.

"Very well," he said. "We will leave." Ruin shot into a quick gallop. The other Horsemen followed close behind. However, unbeknownst to the Riders, something watched them from the darkness. Its nine emerald eyes shone brightly as they stared at the Four. Suddenly, just like that, the creature disappeared in a burst of black and dark blue smoke. It was as if nothing had been there.


	8. Curse of Hell

_**So sorry for the long wait! Anyway, here's the next chapter, which once again focuses on Anne and her new misfortunes.**_

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Anne struggled to open her eyes. She felt horribly feverish for some reason, and her entire body was aching. Her mouth was also uncomfortably dry, but the heat that she felt was making her absolutely miserable. She twitched as she struggled to at least rise to her hands and knees. She opened her eyes, but she had no choice but to close them again. Everything was spinning. She brought a hand to her forehead as she realized that she had an intense migraine. She quickly became nauseous, and it wasn't long before she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the ground. She coughed painfully afterwards and spat out some more vomit that was combined with spit. She opened her eyes slowly, but not fully. She looked around. She realized that she was still at the same spot where she killed the Phantom General. She scowled.

"Bastard," she muttered to herself as she opened her eyes a little more. She blinked a few times so that her vision wasn't blurry and was finally able to get a good look at herself, mainly her hands. She looked at them for a while before bringing one hand up to look at it closer.

"What the hell?" she asked herself as she saw claws clearly marked on her armor. Had the armor warped itself for no particular reason, or had it warped itself because her nails had actually morphed into claws? Before she could give it any thought, she suddenly realized that there was something on her body that shouldn't have been there. It was at the base of her spine, but she felt her spine actually extend further than her tailbone. She slowly looked back and inhaled sharply. It was a _tail_. The armor had visibly warped itself so that it completely covered the whip-like appendage. Not only that, but there were a few spikes that ran down the top of her tail that were also clad in armor. She looked back at her hands. She figured that she did indeed have claws.

She looked at a building that was directly in front of her and slowly crawled over to it. She made her way inside and curled up on the debris-covered floor. However, a sharp pain raced down her back. She felt something pushing against the armor, and she realized that she had no choice but to remove it. She fiercely grabbed the armor on her arms and pulled them off. They came off effortlessly, but Anne was in too much pain to care. She removed all of her armor and let it clatter to the ground. She quickly pulled off her green shirt and threw it down. She sighed in relief as the pain stopped. However, she could clearly feel something on her shoulder blades, something heavy, and definitely attached with bones, ligaments and tendons. She slowly looked over her shoulder to find a pair of small, upside-down demon wings.

She wasn't sure how to react, so she instead chose to slightly spread them. When she did, she was able to see more details in them. They were mostly red and dark red, but they featured black marks that seemed to outline them more. She really wasn't sure of how to feel about them, but she was grateful that she at least had wings. She looked at her now bare hands and studied them.

Her fingernails had turned into long claws as black as coal, while the tips of her fingers were a red so dark that they almost looked black. As she looked up her arm, she noticed that her fingers tips faded from dark red to red, and that red slowly faded into her pale complexion. She looked at her tail to see if it was the same way. It was, but it only faded to red and essentially stayed that shade throughout the rest of the long, flexible limb. She also noticed that the spikes on top of it were black in color, like her claws. She then remembered her shoulders, and realized that they had both been branded.

She looked at the right one first. She noticed a faint blue mark on her shoulder, which was what classified her as a member of the Hellguard. She then turned to her left shoulder and looked at it. What she saw left her confused. It was a strange mark, like if a creature with three huge claws tore at her shoulder once, leaving three large gashes behind. She lightly poked one of the marks. It tingled, so Anne figured that it was still sensitive. She picked up her shirt and cut two slits in the back before putting it on. She was gentle in getting her wings through the slits before putting on her armor again. As she put it on, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in it.

On her face, above her eyebrows and just below her hairline, were what appeared to be two pimples. However, they were completely red and swollen, as if they were infected. Anne reached up and squeezed one, hoping that it would pop. Instead, a wave of pain cascaded across her face, and Anne was forced to stop. Whatever they were, they hurt too much to be simple or infected acne. She finished putting on her armor, leaving the chest piece for last. However, the armor warped in order to provide comfort for her wings. Gaps opened up in the armor to allow the wings through, but then they sealed over the base of her wings as to not leave any of her back exposed. She grabbed Sunder and slowly rose to her feet. The feverish feeling she felt had lessened some, but not fully. She tried to swallow some of her own saliva to see if it would help, but she realized that her throat was dry as well. She had to find some water soon.

She placed her angelic blade on her hip and picked up her Hellguard Lance. Using it as a cane of sorts, Anne made her way out of the building and left the area. Her boots of armor stomped on some dried demon blood as she went, and she paid no mind to it. She felt as if she were burning. Anne stopped and leaned against a wall to rest for a moment. As she did, she noticed a pair of angels fly by. A few moments later, Anne spotted a Phantom Guard followed by two Prowlers stalking the angels. A spark of anger and determination was lit within Anne, filling her with apparent strength. She placed her lance on her back, as she no longer needed it, and started to follow the demons. She simply speed-walked after them and hid whenever they got suspicious and looked back. However, she and the demons came to an area that didn't have very many hiding spots. Anne hesitated, but she was determined to kill those demons before they could kill their angel prey. Anne continued to stalk them.

However, one of the Prowlers sensed something behind it and stopped. The Phantom Guard and the other Prowler continued on, oblivious to the fact that their comrade had stopped. Anne had to act quickly. She dropped to the ground face down and pretended like she was dead. The Prowler turned around and spotted some beast laying on the ground, dead. The Prowler growled and glanced back at its two allies. It would catch up to them later. It turned its attention back to the corpse and made its way towards it. As it neared, it noticed that the creature slightly resembled a human, but it looked like a demon. Not only that, but it wore Hellguard armor. The demon came closer and sniffed the body. Strangely, it didn't smell dead.

Before it could react, the beast awakened and stabbed its claws through the demons neck. Fury glowed in Anne's eyes as she ripped the Prowler's throat out, a spray of blood covering her right arm to the middle of her forearm. The dead demon collapsed in front of her as she rose to her feet. She brought her clean left hand to her mouth as she licked her teeth. Something was off with her canines, and those teeth ached. She drew Sunder and revealed its blade with her left hand to use it as a mirror. She shook her head. She couldn't see due to the blade's glow. She sheathed Sunder and instead chose to continue following the other two hellish beasts. Eventually, the angels split up at a fork in the road. The demons did the same. Anne chose to follow the Prowler instead of the Phantom Guard.

The Prowler growled lightly as it came closer to the angel it was following. It bared its fangs and saliva dripped from its maw. However, it sensed a presence behind it. Before it could even turn around, claws sank into its nape. The demon coughed up blood as those same claws raked across its flesh towards its back, widening the wounds. The beast collapsed, blood pooling around its mouth. It felt something looming over it before feeling hands wrap around its jaws. One hand held its jaw tightly while the other hand essentially held the roof of the mouth and pushed its head up slightly. Then, with a forceful push, the jaw snapped.

Anne released the Prowler's jaws and stepped away from its corpse. She looked at the angel, who was oblivious to the kill she had just made. Anne smiled cruelly and turned around. When she returned to the fork, she took the other path instead. It wasn't long before she found the Phantom Guard, who was dangerously close to the angel. Anne growled and, in an amazing burst of speed, ran silently towards the demon. It never saw her coming. Anne appeared behind the demonic soldier and wrapped her left hand around the demon's mouth tightly while she sank the bloodied claws of her right hand into the flesh of its chest.

Using her own strength, she pulled the Phantom Guard into the nearby alley. When they were shrouded in the darkness of the alley, Anne threw the demon onto the ground. The demon brought its hand to the shallow but bleeding holes in its chest. Anne kicked the axe from the demon's hand and wrapped her bloody hand around its neck. The demon coughed as she held him tightly. She brought her face close to his.

"Who—_What_ are you?" the Phantom Guard asked with difficulty. Anne smiled cruelly and laughed lightly. She tightened her grip around his neck further. The demon wheezed and clawed at her arm.

"I am _your_ end," she replied in a low, cruel growl as she crushed the demon's neck with her hand, killing it. She stood up and walked away from the scene. She turned away and left the fork entirely before taking a side road near said fork. She walked slowly, letting herself rest after what she had done. She hated demons. However, that was no excuse to kill them in a sadistic way, as if it were fun. She refused to be like the demons themselves. Eventually, she came to a large, open area with a fountain in the center. Upon seeing the fountain, Anne's eyes widened. It was _water_.

She made her way towards the inactive decoration and scooped up some water with her left hand and brought it to her lips. There was nothing better than the feeling of fairly cold water when feeling hot and feverish. She drank it and another scoop followed. She laughed as she felt herself cool down a little. Then, she scooped some more water and stepped away from the fountain. She poured the water onto her right hand to wash away the blood, and the red liquid dripped down onto the concrete surrounding the base of the fountain. She took another scoop to wash off any remaining blood, and then decided to look at her reflection in the water.

The first thing she noticed was that the acne on her forehead had grown and gotten redder. Not only that, but they were causing her more pain. She leaned closer to the water to get a closer inspection of the swollen areas. What she saw surprised her. Instead of being white, like a simple pimple, or greenish like infected acne, there was a dark spot. Anne poked it. It was surprisingly hard, like a stone. There was no way it could be acne. She had to split the skin.

Using a claw, she carefully poked the area right above the bump and slowly sank her claw into her own flesh. She winced and hissed in pain, but it went by quickly. She slowly moved her claw down, slicing open the bump. Nothing but a bit of blood came out. However, the skin seemed to fall away slightly as she revealed a protrusion. Anne gasped. It was a _horn_. She poked the demonic feature, feeling its sharp tip. She carefully sliced open the other bump and revealed her other horn. She was in shock. She was literally turning into a demon.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her teeth again. She hissed in pain again and inspected her teeth using the water in the fountain as a mirror. She was horrified to see her canines had lengthened into sharp fangs that reminded her of a dog or cat. She licked her transformed teeth and lightly pressed her tongue to the sharp ends. They were quite sharp, like her claws. A great sadness overwhelmed Anne as she collapsed onto the ground next to the found. She sat by the decoration in sorrow, thinking about what was happening to her. All of a sudden, she felt the presence of other demons approaching the area. Perhaps they knew she was here? Anne tensed and prepared to stand and draw Sunder. However, something completely different happened.

Anne's body jerked forward violently and a loud growl escaped her mouth. She felt a great heat consume her. Was she on fire? She didn't know. She lost feeling of her body, but she was still conscious. What was happening? Anne realized that the heat was coming from the rage boiling inside of her. She wanted to _kill_ these demons that were coming to her. A roar boomed from her. Anne stopped. A roar? She felt herself move, but she wasn't moving. She heard the cries of several demons as they were killed. Who was killing them? Anne closed her eyes. Suddenly, she saw everything.

_She_ was killing demons, tearing them to shreds with her claws and slicing them apart with Sunder, whose blue glow had become a darker blue. There were only a handful of demons left. Suddenly, realization hit her. She wasn't herself, nor was she in control of herself. She saw what she was doing, and felt the rage that kept her going. Rage. Rage was in control of her.

Suddenly, she killed the last of the demons and stopped. She dropped to her knees in exhaustion as she resumed control. She blinked. The red tint in her vision disappeared as a sense of sleepiness overtook her. She fell on her side as the fire within her died down. As it did, Anne caught a glimpse of a dark figure looking at her with pure red eyes.

She blinked again before shutting her eyes. Before she dozed off, she saw the figure again, and realized that it wasn't a physical being; it was a demonic manifestation in her mind. It growled and disappeared into the shadows as sleep came to Anne. Before she lost consciousness however, she felt many arms and hands grab her and lift her up from the ground before carrying her off. Alarms went off in her head. Was she in danger? She was too exhausted to care, and she slipped into darkness.


	9. The Demon Merchant

_**Sorry for the long wait! I finally updated this story, and this chapter introduces the good old demon merchant, Vulgrim!**_

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The Horsemen rode for a long while, slaying demons every so often. Eventually, they came to a stop to let their ethereal steeds have their temporary rest. As the Riders walked down the streets calmly, War heard the light clanking of a chain. He looked up to his left and spotted a strange decoration.

It had a sharp point pointing in the direction War was walking, but the metallic symbol curved in a way that it seemed to make the shape of the number six, although the metal was bent so that the spiral was essentially sharp and angular. Just before the "six" shape could be completed, the metal curved again so that its end was pointing in the same direction as the first end. In the center of the mark, where the spiral ended, was a glowing blue orb. From the bottom of the symbol hung three small chains. At the end of each chain was a small piece of metal in a claw-like shape. War narrowed his eyes.

"What is it, War?" Death asked. War continued to stare at the glyph.

"Vulgrim," he finally replied. Death snickered.

"You've met him?" he asked. War was surprised. His brother knew that demon? Suddenly, Fury strode past him and walked over to the glassless door. She looked back at her younger brother.

"He finally got on our level," she said mockingly. War scowled. Fury laughed lightly before turning around and walking inside the ruined building. Her three brothers followed. As soon as they were all inside the building, a figure rose up from the ground in a burst of blue smoke. The gaunt demon hunched over and placed his left hand over his armored right as he assumed his usual posture. There was a gleeful look in his hideous face, and his fanged mouth was twisted into a grin.

"Well, if it isn't my best customers!" he exclaimed, his cruel green eyes shining. He spread his arms. "I do thank you, _all_ of you, for your souls, coins, and gifts." He looked at War with happiness in his eyes and extended his left hand towards him in a pointing manner.

"I am glad that you were able to put my items to good use. And those souls you delivered to me…" He brought his hands close to himself and closed them into fists as he laughed in delight. "They were _extravagant_!" he said as he opened his hands and widened his eyes. He lowered his hands and stood tall.

"And those Artifacts you gave me… Well, I have made a display of them!" He brought his hands together, but then he kept them apart so that there was a relatively large gap between them. As he unclasped his hands, a glass case appeared in a burst of blue smoke between them in the gap. The case spun around slowly and lazily, but it clearly displayed the twenty-seven Artifacts within. Vulgrim then closed his hands into fists and the case disappeared as the demon resumed his usual posture.

"How's the Book of the Dead?" Death suddenly asked. Vulgrim turned his attention to the Pale Rider and grinned.

"Splendid, of course," he replied as he placed his left hand on his chest in delight. "I've learned much from the pages you brought me." He once again placed his hand on top of his right one and looked at Fury.

"And you, Black Rider, have indeed brought me some of the finest weapons in all of the realms." Fury smiled lightly, but proudly. Finally, the demon looked at Strife. His expression turned darker for some reason, his glee replaced by a seemingly sadistic kind of glee.

"Strife," he called to the White Rider. He looked at the merchant.

"I hope you like what I brought you," he said as he holstered Mercy, which he had been cleaning. Vulgrim laughed darkly.

"Yesss, the Kingdom Relics," he hissed. "They are truly worth everything you went through to get them." Strife growled.

"They damn well better be," he said, irritated. "All of them were heavily guarded, even the Relic of the Third Kingdom." Vulgrim chuckled.

"You need not worry about it, Strife. After all, you did receive a fine gift." Strife calmed down instantly. It was true. Getting the Relics had been worth it. Vulgrim suddenly raised a finger. "However, I am not here to just thank you. I have information that I think you will all find… _valuable_."

"In what way will it help us, Vulgrim?" War asked, interested. Vulgrim snickered.

"I know how you all seek to topple the Charred Council," he said cruelly. "There may be someone that is capable of helping you greatly." War flexed the fingers on his left arm as his eyes narrowed.

"Is it Samael?" he asked suspiciously. Death looked at his brother. Samael helped War before? Vulgrim shook his head.

"No, Red Rider. It is not Samael. However, I will not deny that it is another demon." War scowled.

"War, hearing information about this demon won't hurt," Death said calmly. War looked at him, and then looked back at the merchant. He took a deep breath as to calm himself down.

"Very well. Speak, demon," he growled. Vulgrim grinned.

"I have received word that there is a powerful demon about," he began. "I have heard many soldier demons talking about it. They say that it has slain countless other demons on its own, using its own claws as well as a blade. They also say that it wears the armor of the Hellguard on its body." Underneath his mask, Strife raised his eyebrows.

"Wait, wait, wait," he said. "A demon with Hellguard armor?" Vulgrim nodded.

"Yes, and its blade is also of the angels. Not to mention it has a Hellguard Lance on its back." He waved his unarmored hand to dismiss this. "But that isn't important. I have heard rumors that this demon has the potential to be a _Lord_. Others say that it could even become the new _Destroyer_." Upon hearing this, War clenched his fists. He didn't want to face another Destroyer, even if it would be an ally of his.

"Another Destroyer may not benefit us in any way," he said, agitated. "The last one lived up to his name and destroyed this world." Vulgrim wrung his fingers.

"True, and you may be right, Red Rider," the demon responded calmly. "However, I wouldn't pass up this chance if I were you. This 'Lord' may help. Just be wary of its rage-filled outbursts that prompt it to slaughter anything around it."

"Can you give us any clues as to where to find it?" Death asked. Vulgrim pondered this for a moment.

"Last I heard, it was believed to have been taken by something to a shelter of sorts. Humans, I think," the demon answered as he lightly rubbed his chin with a clawed finger. He shrugged.

"That is all I know." He raised a finger. "However, I will seek out this demon for myself and tell you everything I can about it when I find it."

"That seems fair enough. Thank you, Vulgrim," Fury told the merchant. Vulgrim chuckled.

"No, thank _you_," he replied. "I wish you the best of luck." With that, the demon sank into the ground, blue smoke obscuring his form as he disappeared. The Horsemen emerged into the open area that they were in before they spoke to their merchant ally.

"What now?" Strife asked. War looked at him.

"We search for this demon, and wait for Vulgrim to give us more information about it, including where to find it," he responded.

"So, should we just keep on walking, or—?" Death summoned Despair and mounted his saddle before the White Rider could finish his sentence.

"If we want to find this demon, we will have no choice but to ride in order to track it faster," he said with determination. War nodded once before summoning and mounting Ruin. As soon as Ruin, who was rearing up on his back legs, dropped his forelegs back to the ground, he broke into a run. Strife and Fury took off running after the fiery black horse and summoned their own steeds in order to catch up. Death quickly followed after them. The Horsemen had a demon to find.


	10. The Demon's Abilities

_**The longest chapter thus far! Anne starts to discover her abilities...**_

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A throne. A black, spiked throne, surrounded by charred black rock with lava surrounding that rock. As Anne approached it, she felt welcomed. This wasn't right. This looked like Hell. Suddenly, a black demonic shape materialized in the throne, its red eyes glaring at her. A low growl escaped its throat, but she could see its mouth move, revealing the inside of it to be as red as its eyes. Then, it roared at her. Anne woke up instantly, gasping as she did. She lay there for a little while to catch her breath and think about that short nightmare. She didn't understand it. She decided to sit up and grasped her head with one hand. She had an intense headache. Not only that, but her body was still in pain. Suddenly, someone appeared at the misshapen circular entrance to the room she was in.

"Are you alright?" the man asked. Anne looked at him and blinked a few times. She recognized him as one of the humans she discovered in the building and had led to safety. She shrugged lazily.

"I guess I'm ok," she replied, though it sounded more like a groan. The man went over to her and knelt down next to her.

"You look better than you did when we found you," he said. "But it looks like you've worsened. What happened?" Anne immediately realized that he was referring to her transformation. She felt one of her horns between the fingers of the hand on her aching head, and she decided to feel them. She found them to be longer, and they seemed to curve backwards like the horns of an impala. She also found her wings to be larger, but something else about her had changed. She noticed that her legs looked a bit longer, and three small claws had formed on the edge of her boots. She stared at them for a while before the man spoke again.

"You also have something on your cheeks," he said as he pointed to his cheek. He pointed specifically at the edge of his jaw, which was just further down past his cheek. Anne brought her own hand to that part of her face and felt the area. Sure enough, she felt a bump like the ones that had been growing on her head. Another bump was also on the other side. Anne sighed.

"I—I don't remember what happened very well," she said. "I was branded by a demon. That's why I look like this. That's why I… changed." She looked at the man.

"Can you tell me what happened before I came here?" He raised his eyebrows.

"You mean you don't know?" he asked. Anne shook her head. The man cleared his throat.

"Well, you killed a whole bunch of demons. It was a massacre. After that, you collapsed and we took you here, back to the shelter," he explained. Anne looked at her hands, which were stained with blood. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"I remember killing demons, but…" she paused. "I don't remember being the one doing it."

"It was you. We all saw you," he said. "We went out to gather supplies, and we found you killing Hell spawn." Anne remained silent for a moment. Finally, she decided to stand up. The man grabbed her arm.

"Woah, wait, where are you going?" he asked. Anne looked down at him.

"I have to find more people, and bring them to safety," she answered. "Before I lose my mind." He remained quiet, but he released her arm.

"In case you need to find me again…" he began. He reached out his arm and offered his hand. "Just ask for Chris." Anne smiled and shook his hand.

"Anne," she said. Chris smiled and stood up. He clapped her shoulder.

"You be careful," he said. Anne nodded.

"I will." With that, Chris escorted her out of the small nook and into the shelter. He took her to the mouth of the tunnel that led to the trapdoor and waved goodbye. Anne waved back and disappeared into the tunnel. She found walking to be strange. Something was very wrong with her legs. She inspected them as she walked and found that she was walking with her knees somewhat bent. However, she found her feet to be the real problem as she was walking on her toes even though she didn't want to. She wanted to put her whole foot on the ground, but she stretched her calf out to a painful point when she tried. She would just have to deal with this now. Eventually, she reached the ladder and climbed up. She opened the trapdoor and exited through the opening before closing the trapdoor again and leaving the building. She staggered out and dropped to her knees. Her head was pounding. She clasped her head with both hands and tightly shut both eyes as she remained there on the ground for a while before hearing a voice.

"Over here," a raspy voice said to her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked to her right, where she had heard the sound.

"Who are you?" she asked through gritted teeth. She saw a dark silhouette in a small nook between two buildings with two green eyes that stared at her. A glowing blue smoke seemed to emanate from the being's lower torso. Anne narrowed her eyes as she noticed the silhouette seemed to possess two large horns that curved upwards. Immediately, she grabbed Sunder from her hip and pointed it towards the demonic being.

"I do not wish to harm you," it said. "I only wish to speak…" The being started to tap its fingertips together deviously. "And even help you." Anne slowly rose to her feet and started to advance towards it. She let Sunder hang at her side, but she did not retract its blade. She took slow, careful steps towards the being. It laughed.

"Do not be so afraid. After all, you can end me faster than I can end you," it said. Anne saw it smile.

"I ask you again," she said as she neared. "Who are you?" The being laughed again.

"Why, I am a most humble merchant, the famed merchant of the Horsemen!" it exclaimed. Anne stopped.

"You do business with the Horsemen?" she asked. The being simply bowed, prideful of its title.

"I am Vulgrim, the Demon Merchant," he said in self-introduction. She realized that he was coming closer to her, because she was able to see him now. For one, he was one of the most grotesque demons that she had ever met, but he was also unique because he was unlike anything she had ever seen. He had piercing green eyes, and lacked the cartilage of a nose. His mouth was full of sharp fangs that gave him the appearance of a skull. In fact, his face essentially looked like a skull with a layer of gray-blue skin over it. He had two massive horns that emerged from the sides of his head and curved upwards, like a bull. Strangely, the sharp tips of his horns weren't there, as if they had been cut. However, he also had other smaller horns on his forehead, the top of his head, and near his nape. He also had a horn-like beard.

On top of his head he wore a cowl, and also wore a short cowl around his neck. His upper torso was essentially entirely bare. He had diminutive, deformed wings that seemed to have bandages wrapped around them. His shoulders resembled the flesh of a reptile as he had blue-tinted gray scales on them. He also wore wraps around his right arm. While the fingers on his left hand were clad in several rings, his entire right hand was clad in a gold and indigo armor. He wore long robes that covered the whole of his lower torso, and blue smoke emanated from underneath it. Over his left pectoral, apparently attached to his neck cowl, was a strange symbol: an angular spiral with a blue orb in the middle and claw-like objects on the bottom. Anne figured that was his discerning symbol. Sunder's blade retracted and she placed the weapon on her hip.

"How do you plan to help me?" she asked defensively. Vulgrim snickered.

"I know the pain you are feeling," he said. "I can help ease it, so to speak." Anne's eyebrows rose.

"Can you now?"

"Oh yesss!" the demon said as he clapped his hands together. "It is not difficult. I can stop the pain, but I cannot stop the transformation." Anne waved her hand to dismiss that.

"The pain bothers me more," she responded. The demon's green eyes twinkled.

"Very well," he said as his left hand started to glow with a blue light the same color as the smoke coming from him. He extended his finger towards her and gently placed his fingertip on her forehead. Suddenly, an intense pain passed through her entire body, but that was only for a split second because after that, all the pain she was feeling was gone. Vulgrim removed his finger from her head. Anne stepped away a bit.

"Why help me?" she asked. Vulgrim shrugged.

"You looked like you could use it," he replied smugly. He raised a finger. "Be wary of the demon you carry within you." Anne paused.

"Can you tell me information about that demon?" she asked. Vulgrim scratched his spiky chin for a moment.

"Hmm, I suppose I could," he said. He looked back at her. "I'll tell you what I can."

"Very well," Anne said, no longer defensive.

"This demon seems to awaken when your rage intensifies," he explained. "I cannot recognize it now, but it seems familiar. It is a Demon Lord." Anne laughed lightly.

"There's no way I'm a Lord," she said, confident in her words. However, Vulgrim's smug expression unnerved her, and she realized that he was telling the truth. "No, I can't be a Lord." Vulgrim laughed.

"Oh, you will be, in time. But I will be around to help, should you need it. Just don't get carried away with your anger, or you will endanger everyone around you." Vulgrim laughed again. "If you do, well, you might as well be called the Destroyer." With that final sentence, the demon sank into the ground, obscured by the smoke coming from him. Anne stood there in a bit of shock. The Destroyer? No, she wasn't like that. She couldn't be like that. Anne turned around and quickly left the area.

As she walked, she could feel her wings and horns growing. She could also feel her legs changing, but it was all numb. Vulgrim had neutralized the pain. She smiled and laughed as she looked down at her legs. Her legs were bent at the knees, but Anne could now easily see the real and very obvious change in her feet. Her feet had lengthened and warped so that she was naturally and comfortably walking on her toes. Not only that, but the three claws on the end had grown, and the armor had grown with them in order to accommodate them.

"Damn it," she muttered under her breath as her face fell. However, she found a good use for her new leg structure. She could run a lot faster by taking large strides. As Anne ran, she also found that her endurance seemed to have increased, as well as her stamina. She ran for a long while before approaching a somewhat gruesome scene. On the ground lay a dead Storm Warden, large juggernaut angels that usually carried a small but wide and dense cannon-like gun. Sure enough, Anne found the gun, named Redemption, neared the angel's bloody corpse. She knelt before the Storm Warden and placed her hand on its shoulder.

"Rest in peace," she whispered to it as she removed her hand and picked up Redemption. She rose to her feet and continued in the direction that she was heading.

It wasn't long before she encountered some more demons. Three Prowlers turned a corner and immediately saw her. They started moving towards her menacingly. Anne grinned sadistically. She aimed her newfound gun at the middle Prowler and squeezed the trigger. A ball of holy energy similar to a charged shot from the Hellguard Lance fired from Redemption and hit the demon. The blast was weaker than the lance's charged shot, but it was still lethal. The blast hit the demon's face, incinerating it and killing it on the spot. Anne quickly aimed at one of the other Prowlers and fired a charged shot this time. The large orb, blue in color this time, rushed at the Prowler. When it hit, there was no explosion. Instead, a charred body was left behind. The remaining Prowler looked at its dead allies in what appeared to be fear. Anne took this chance to kill it with a simple shot. She snickered as she left the scene. As she ran, she looked back at her wings. They were definitely bigger. She figured that she would be ready to fly again after a few more minutes. Suddenly, she remembered the horns on her cheeks. She stopped and dropped to her knees before setting Redemption down. She moved her hair away so she could see the bumps.

The bumps were incredibly swollen, but she could see the horns. She decided to cut the skin to let them out, like the horns on her head. After splitting the skin, the flesh receded as the horn poked out, just like before. As Anne poked the small horns, she began to worry. She seemed to have the horns of a Phantom Guard, but they only had impala-like horns on their foreheads, like her. They didn't have any coming out of their cheeks. Maybe Vulgrim was right. She would become a Lord. She scowled.

"I'd rather be a Lord than a Destroyer," she growled as she grabbed Redemption. However, before she could stand up and keep going, a Trauma appeared on a rooftop to her left. It looked down at her and roared before jumping down to her level. It swiped its claws against the ground before spreading them and roaring at her again. Anne scowled again as she quickly rose to her feet and backed away some. The huge demon growled and took a step towards her. Anne fired a shot from Redemption at the beast's knee. The blast burned its knee some, but not a lot. Nonetheless, it collapsed to its good knee and stabbed its massive claws into the asphalt as it growled in pain. Anne decided to use the demon's weak state to her advantage and started running towards it. Unfortunately, the Trauma wasn't as brainless as Anne thought it to be. It swiped its free arm at her, attempting to backhand her away. Normally, Anne wouldn't have been able to get away in time. However, with the use of her powerful legs, she was able to leap high above the arm and landed on it as it passed. She placed her right hand on the beast's arm as she placed Redemption on her left hip, the gun attaching itself to the armor with that strange magnet-like mechanism. She quickly scampered up the arm to the demon's back.

The moment it felt the small creature reach its back, the Trauma rose to its feet and roared as it began to flail its arms around and clumsily stumbled about. It finally decided to throw itself backwards as to crush the creature between its back and a building. Unfortunately for the demon, Anne saw this coming. She grabbed onto the beast's horns and flipped over its head, her body landing on its face. The demon's back slammed into solid concrete, causing it to unleash a cry of pain. Anne quickly flipped back over its head using her legs and drew Sunder. She quickly stabbed the beast in the nape and saw the blade emerge from between the creature's jaws. The Trauma went limp and slumped forward. Anne ripped the blade out of the beast's head and leaped off of it as it collapsed onto the ground. Anne spread her wings as she fell and immediately felt her fall slow down. She looked at her wings and noticed that the tips were pointing forward, and air had essentially turned the wings into natural parachutes. She was gliding. She retracted Sunder's blade and returned it to her hip before she even set foot on the ground. She folded her wings again and snickered.

"Too easy," she said to herself before continuing on her way. She ran for a bit before deciding to walk in order to relax. After a while of walking, she decided to sit down and rest her legs for a bit. She walked into a nearby alley and sat down. The moment she sat and sighed in relief, she heard a small voice.

"You're not going to kill me, are you?" the voice asked. Anne opened her eyes and looked down at the source of the voice. It was a young boy, possibly around five years old. Anne laughed softly.

"No, I'm not like the demons, even though I looked like one," she answered. She then raised her eyebrows in questioning. "But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at a shelter?" she asked him. The boy looked down in hopelessness.

"I can't find a place safe enough," he replied. "I came here because I can hide in the dumpster if I want to." Anne felt pity for the child. She reached out a hand.

"I know a place," she told him. "I can take you there if you want." The boy looked at her in surprise.

"You can?" he asked. She nodded. The boy suddenly grinned widely as he took her hand. They both stood up before Anne picked up the boy and put him over her left shoulder. She held him in place with her left hand, leaving her right arm free in case she needed Sunder. She left the alley with him and started to backtrack towards the shelter. She walked at first but then she began to run in order to get there faster. She hoped that they weren't attacked on their way there, as the young human would weigh her down and limit her fighting skills.

Unfortunately, she was never that lucky. As she ran with the boy in tow, a Berserker and several Phantom Guards spawned around them. They roared at both her and the boy and began to advance towards them. Anne growled as the boy cried out in fear and surprise. She reached for Sunder, but she realized that she most likely wouldn't be able to dodge enemy attacks. She would've flown if her wings were ready, but they weren't. She began to fear the worst. She tightened her grip on the boy. The Berserker slammed its axe on the ground. An intense sense of fear welled up within Anne. The Berserker was essentially a bigger Phantom General, and possibly smarter. It was definitely stronger. Anne felt helpless, but as she felt the boy on her shoulder tremble and sob lightly, her fear turned into rage, desperation, and determination. She would save him, and bring him to safety. The Berserker began to run at her, sparks flying from the axe scraping along the concrete and asphalt. Anne bared her teeth and held her free hand out towards the charging demon in a "stop" motion. What happened next left everyone awestruck, even Anne.

The Berserker froze in place, leaving it in mid-run. Its eyes widened as it realized it couldn't move its body. Anne herself felt some sort of invisible power coming from her and being conducted through her hand, which was currently affecting the large demon. At the same time, Anne felt her brain pulsing. Whatever she was doing clearly involved her mind. With sudden realization, Anne figured out what she was doing. Her scowl turned into a wicked smile as she slowly raised her arm up. The demon followed suit, and began to levitate in the air as she forced it to. She raised her hand above her head, placing the Berserker in a fairly high place in the air. With a cruel laugh, Anne quickly and forcibly brought her arm back down, mentally slamming the demon into the ground, breaking both of its legs in the process. The Berserker howled in pain as a pool of blood began to form around its legs, and Anne could see that its broken bones had protruded through its flesh and armor.

"Ooh, that has to hurt," she said somewhat sarcastically. She snickered cruelly as she turned towards a group of a few Phantom Guards. She grinned sadistically. "I guess I have to be fair to everyone."

She extended her arm towards the soldier demons, stopping them in place, and lifted her arm up so that they levitated slightly. Anne then looked sideways at another group of Phantom Guards and flicked her arm towards that group, sending the group she had in her mental grasp flying towards them. Like throwing a bowling ball towards the pins, all of the demons collided with the others, and they all tumbled to the ground. The will to kill those helpless demons grew within Anne, as she had no intention of sparing them and she wanted to use her telekinetic powers some more. She channeled her newfound power through her hand and extended it towards the group of demons laying on the ground. She raised her arm high but not above her head as to leave the demons high up but not that high. She grinned as she pointed a finger towards them and turned it one hundred and eighty degrees. The fearful demons followed her finger and turned upside down in midair. With a light laugh, Anne quickly dropped her arm back down, dropping the demons down to the asphalt head first. A loud many cracks were heard as the demons' skulls shattered, killing them all. Anne smirked before turning her attention to the severely wounded Berserker. She walked over to it, and it looked at her in terror.

"Mercy, plea—" the Berserker was interrupted as Anne stomped a foot on its neck, forcing the wind out of it. She extended her hand towards the axe in its hands and yanked it out with her mental ability. She twirled her fingers, thus rotating the axe vertically, causing it to spin in midair above its wielder. The Berserker coughed and gasped for air as Anne stopped twirling the axe. She looked down at the demon, who stared back at her with fearful eyes. She grinned evilly.

"You sealed your own fate," she hissed as she pointed at the axe with a finger and effortlessly dropped it, causing the axe to drop while spinning horizontally. The axe impaled the Berserker in the back, killing it instantly. She felt it go limp under her foot. Motioning with her hand towards the bloodstained axe, she raised both her arm and the demon's massive weapon. She quickly rotated her upper torso to her right and extended her arm to the side in the process, mentally throwing the weapon towards a Phantom Guard. The axe turned sideways and spun horizontally as it flew at a lone soldier demon. The demon only stood there in shock as the blade cleanly severed its head from the rest of its body. The axe continued spinning until it embedded itself into the side of a concrete building, for the other demons jumped out of the way of the spinning weapon. However, Anne was very quick to continue her attack.

She held Sunder in her hand as she leaped towards the remaining Phantom Guards, using her still underdeveloped wings to propel her forward some. She sliced through the demons with ease, causing blood to spray everywhere. As she slew the demons, the blue aura of her blade darkened further, turning a bright indigo. Anne noticed this, but it didn't matter to her then. She impaled the last Phantom Guard through the gut, kicked it down and pulled Sunder out in the process, and impaled it through the neck to finish it. She retracted Sunder's blade and returned the hilt to her hip. She looked at the bloodbath that had happened around her.

"How did you do that?" the boy suddenly asked. Anne's eyes widened as she realized that he had essentially seen everything. She dropped to one knee and removed him from her shoulder. She set him down on the ground and looked him in the eye. Surprisingly, he looked curious and surprised, but also grateful. He didn't at all look frightened. Anne was still concerned, however.

"I'm sorry," she said. "That probably scared you pretty bad." The boy shook his head.

"No, it didn't," he said. "That was cool." Anne widened her eyes. She looked at her right hand.

"I don't know how I did it," she admitted, replying to his earlier question. "I sort of just… Got mad and really scared." The boy held her hand, causing her to look him in the eye again. He smiled widely.

"You're my hero," he said. Anne wasn't sure how to react at first. She was surprised, shocked, pleased and horrified at the same time. How could this kid call her his hero after witnessing such a brutal massacre? Anne chose to smile, still unsure of how to feel, but at least she wanted to make this child feel safe with her. She rubbed his hair.

"Come on, let's take you somewhere safe," she said softly as she picked him up and placed him on her shoulder again. She stood up and continued to run down to the shelter. This time they made it to the building where the shelter was without being attacked by more demons, leaving Anne relieved. When they arrived, Anne opened the trapdoor and allowed the boy to climb down the ladder first before her. She followed him shortly after, and closed the trapdoor with her telekinesis. She jumped off the ladder and glided down to the ground. The boy watched her fall and land next to him. Anne grabbed his shoulder and looked at him.

"Just stay with me," she said. "The shelter is just ahead." They both walked for a bit before finding the lit room just ahead. Anne stopped, and the boy looked at her.

"Is this it?" he asked. Anne nodded and patted him on the shoulder lightly.

"You can go now," she said softly. The boy walked a few steps away from her, but turned around and looked at her.

"You're not coming?" he asked in confusion. In the darkness, he could see her face fall in sadness. She shook her head and took a step back, shrouding herself in the shadows more.

"I have things to do," she explained. "But when I'm done, I'll make sure to come back." She smiled lightly. The boy smiled as well.

"By the way, my name's Julian," he said. Anne took another step back.

"My name's Anne," she responded before disappearing into the shadows. She saw Julian walk into the shelter and saw the people already there crowd around him and ask him questions. Anne laughed lightly and quietly before turning around and leaving. She left the underground tunnel, forcibly shut the trapdoor, and walked out of the building. The first thing she saw when she stepped outside were two angels firing at a few Phantom Guards and Prowlers. Anne was about to help them when she saw that they were just about done. Not only that, but she was afraid that they would kill her too, considering that she looked like a demon. She touched the horns that sprouted from her cheeks and found that they were definitely bigger, and shaped differently. She followed the shape of the horns starting from where they originated and found that they extended sideways at an angle before curving forward and upwards, like the horns of a Fallen. Anne's eyes widened. She had the horns of a Phantom Guard on her head, but the horns of a Fallen on her cheeks. What was she?

While she was distracted, she had failed to realize that one of the angels had seen her. As soon as the angels had killed their enemies, they cautiously made their way to Anne. Anne noticed that they were coming for her, and she cursed under her breath. She was such a fool for standing out in the open and not hiding instead. She raised her hands above her head and dropped to one knee.

"I'm not a threat, I swear!" she said to the angels. They looked at her in suspicion.

"A demon wearing Hellguard armor?" one of the angels said. He growled and aimed his Hellguard lance at her. "Most likely stolen from the corpse of one of our comrades." Anne looked at him with a look of displeasure.

"And she even has a Redemption cannon from one of our Storm Wardens!" the angel added. Anne scowled and glared at the angel.

"I'll have you know that my armor and Hellguard lance was a gift from one of your fallen friends," she growled. "If you ask Uriel, she'll know who I am. That is, if you tell her what I'm telling you." The other angel lowered his gun some.

"You've met Uriel?" he said. Anne nodded.

"This bladeless hilt I have on my right is a gift from Uriel," she said. "An angelic blade named Sunder." The other angel didn't lower his lance at all.

"And the Redemption cannon?" he asked in a rather hostile way. Anne shrugged.

"I'm not afraid to admit that I did take this Redemption cannon from the corpse of a Storm Warden," she answered. "I figured that I couldn't let a weapon like that go to waste. But I assure you, angel, I did not kill the Storm Warden. I simply came across its corpse." The angel seemed to ponder her answer, and ultimately lowered his lance all the way. He could tell that she was telling the truth.

"Very well, demon. I believe you," he responded. Anne scowled as she lowered her arms and slowly rose to her feet.

"I'm not a demon," she hissed. The angel looked amused.

"A demon that denies being a demon?" he said.

"I'm half demon," Anne told him. "And half human." The angel looked surprised now.

"Human?" he asked. Anne shrugged.

"If you tell Uriel about me, she'll understand. She knows me." The two angels looked at each other, and then back at her. They nodded once and flew off without another word. Anne scowled again. She felt discriminated against, but she couldn't blame them. She looked like their enemies. A bubble of hatred swelled within her as her anger for the demons grew. She walked off in the direction that she had traveled through twice now. Eventually, she came to a stop and looked back at her wings. They were large now, and looked ready to fly. She spread them and flapped them once to test them.

Again she underestimated the strength of her wings and shot high into the air. Anne almost cursed in surprise but she stopped herself and looked at her wings again. She flapped them in a way that wasn't too strong or too weak to hover in place. These wings weren't like her angelic ones. They were actually attached and were fairly heavy. Not only that, but they weren't made of energy. She actually had to flap them at this pace to hover in place and not accidentally move upwards or downwards. She breathed deeply to calm herself and flew off in a different direction. As she flew, she heard the galloping of horses again. Her heart began to race and she immediately landed on the nearest rooftop. However, she soon realized that it wasn't the Horsemen, as there were too many horses. Unfortunately, that wasn't good either. About twenty Abyssal Riders soon appeared, moving in a huge but incredibly organized group. Anne could see the blue flames of the reddish-brown zombie-like horses, which bore a striking resemblance to Death's horse. Anne crouched low on the rooftop and peered down at the demon-like enemies. As they neared the intersection however, she heard more horses. Unfortunately, Anne recognized these horses to truly be the Horsemen. She held her breath and waited.

The moment the Abyssal Riders entered the intersection, the Horsemen appeared, their horses charging towards their enemies. What happened next was an absolute massacre. The Horsemen charged straight into the group of Abyssal Riders and slaughtered about seven of them right off the bat before the enemy horsemen actually started attacking. They lobbed black and blue orbs of abyssal energy that burst into a fountain of that same energy that stuck around for several seconds before fading. The Horsemen's agile horses were able to dodge these attacks and then proceeded to kill the rest of their enemies, slaughtering both the riders and their undead horses. After the Horsemen's victory, their horses reared up and neighed loudly. Anne brought herself to smile, grateful that the Horsemen had killed the Abyssal Riders.

However, when they started to look up and around them, she quickly lay flat on the rooftop and turned her head so that her horns were hidden. She heard the horses gallop by, but then they stopped. Her heart began to race. She could've sworn that she could hear her own heartbeat. Her fear intensified. She hoped that she would never cross paths with them again. Suddenly, she heard talking down below. She dared not look, but instead tried to listen. She couldn't exactly make out what they were saying, but it sounded something like "we were told we'd find it here", and "go check the rooftops". When she heard the familiar voice of Death say "fine", Anne's fear forced her to act. She rose to stand on her hands and feet and jumped over the edge of the building this way. She flapped her wings behind her to propel her forward a bit and started to flap them as fast as she could to get away.

Unfortunately, the Horsemen quickly noticed her trying to make her escape, but they made no effort to follow her on horseback. Death leaped off of his horse as purple smoke surrounded him and covered him entirely. He shot after the escaping demon in his Reaper Form and tried flapping his bony wings a bit. Anne looked behind her and her blood ran cold when she saw a hooded, skeletal figure chasing after her, dark purple smoke billowing behind it. Was that the Grim Reaper? Was it some sort of being under the possible control of Death? She tried to fly faster, but it was no use. The being caught up to her and wrapped its bony arms around her waist.

Anne shrieked and spun in the air to try to throw the Reaper off, but it held fast. Anne made the decision to drop to the ground like a rock. She clawed at the being as they fell, but it made no intention to harm her. It simply held onto her. They hit the ground together, though the skeletal being took the brunt of the landing and made itself a cushion for Anne. The air was knocked loose from Anne's lungs, and she struggled to take a deep breath to get it all back. Despite this, she was surprised that she hadn't damaged the Reaper's exposed ribcage. It threw her off and rose into the air as the other three Horsemen cautiously approached her. Anne still struggled to regain her breath, and trembled on the ground as she did so. The Reaper moved away from Anne and floated alongside the Horsemen.

"Why does this demon look so familiar?" Anne heard Strife ask. Anne, having finally regained her breath, rose to her hands and knees, and then rose to one hand and one knee. She looked up at the Horsemen, and they all realized that they in fact did recognize her. Anne laughed lightly.

"I thought you didn't want to cross paths with me again," she said somewhat darkly. She looked at the Reaper as it flew higher into the sky and was covered in its own purple smoke. Suddenly, the smoke faded and Death himself fell from where the being was. He landed on the ground, straightened up, and looked down at Anne. Anne inhaled sharply. The being had been Death all along. Anne was still surprised to see a look of shock, confusion, and some surprise in his eyes.

"You're the demon that we were sent to find?" he asked. Anne raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"You were sent to find _me_?" she asked. "Who sent you in the first place?" Fury came a little closer to her.

"We were told by Vulgrim that you could help us with our quest," she explained. Vulgrim sent them? Anne was a little infuriated considering the fact that she had no say in this. She didn't want to be the demon they sought. Anne laughed.

"I doubt that I'm the demon you want," she responded. "I mean, look at me."

"You're no demon," War said to her. "You're supposed to be a human. And yet…" His eyes narrowed some. "You're appearance has changed greatly." Anne's head dropped a bit. She touched her left shoulder with her right arm and scowled.

"I didn't ask to be branded by a Phantom General," she growled. Death looked at her shoulder. It seemed that she was branded there. Suddenly, Anne raised her head to look at the Four, suspicion and slight anger burning in her eyes.

"Why me out of all demons? Is it because I kill other demons? Is it because I'm a 'Lord'?" she asked in a hostile manner. Death immediately took notice of this hostility. She wasn't like this before. Something else had changed along with her appearance. He was about to answer until a group of angels approached. Anne and the Horsemen looked at Uriel, who was accompanied by a small group of about five angels. Uriel looked at Anne in surprise.

"So it _is_ true," she said to herself. "You have changed, child."

"Uriel, what are you doing here?" Strife suddenly asked the angel. She looked at the White Rider.

"I came here to see if the rumors were true," she said. Anne sighed.

"Rumors about me, I assume?" she asked. Uriel looked at her and nodded.

"What happened, child?" Anne paused for a moment before rising to her feet.

"I was branded by a Phantom General," she explained. "Now I look like this." Anne spread her wings to emphasize her appearance.

"She looks like Samael," Strife said quietly. Death and War glanced at him when he said that, and Anne figured that they had a history with him. The better question however, was who Samael was. Suddenly, Anne saw a Duskwing approaching the angels from the behind. The demon was flying above the angels, but it clearly targeted them. Worse still, it had its eyes set on Uriel. It began to rapidly and silently descend. Anne grabbed Sunder's hilt as she began to fear for the angel.

"Uriel, watch out!" she shouted. Suddenly, Anne was engulfed in a painless black and dark blue fire. When the flames cleared, she was directly in the way of the Duskwing, who opened its horrid mouth and screeched at her. Anne swung Sunder as the blade still emerged, but still severed the bat-like demon in two. The halves fell past Anne and faded into black and red smoke before they hit the ground. Anne quickly realized that she was in the air, but her own instincts had caused her to start flapping her wings the moment she ended up behind Uriel. Everyone but Anne looked shocked. Uriel turned around and looked at Anne.

"How… How did you do that?" she asked. Anne flew higher into the air and turned around so that she could see everyone. She placed a now bladeless Sunder on her hip and stared at her left hand.

"I—I don't know," she said softly. Suddenly, a piercing screech sounded from behind Anne. Everyone looked in that direction to see a flock of Duskwings approaching. Anne realized that now was a good time to get away. She was terrified, of the Horsemen, the angels, and even herself. She looked at a building just a ways away from her to her right. She narrowed her eyes and the flames surrounded her again. She reappeared just a few inches above the rooftop of that building and dropped down to it. Anne immediately realized that the ability that she had used twice now was teleportation, as she was able to cover a good deal of distance instantaneously. However, the Horsemen quickly noticed that Anne was trying to escape.

Death would have none of it. He dashed over to the nearest spot between two buildings and leaped to the wall of one. He ran up the side of the building before jumping to the wall of the building behind him and running up that wall as well. Death continued to wall run and wall jump until he was able to reach the edge of the first building he had started running up. He grabbed it and pulled himself up. Anne looked at him with a look of horror, gasped, and immediately began to run away along the rooftops.

"Wait!" he shouted to her. She made no attempt to stop as she leaped over a gap between two buildings. Death had no choice but to give chase. As he did, the angels began to battle with the Duskwings, the other three Horsemen aiding them in battle. Death leaped over some gaps himself, but it started getting tiring. Worse still, Anne was incredibly quick, and had made good distance. Death was forced to resort to using his Reaper Form. The purple smoke surrounded his body once more, and he transformed into his alternate form. He began to fly after the half-demon, and extended his right hand towards the escaping half-demon. Anne looked back in fear and tripped because of it. She rolled along the rooftop for a moment before regaining her balance and ended up on her back. She tried to crabwalk backwards, but Death had already caught up. She held out her hand in front of her, but she didn't extend it towards him. Death reached out to her, his bony fingers stretching out, offering her to take his hand. Anne merely trembled in fear.

Suddenly, a small group of Duskwings attacked the both of them. Anne reached arm out towards one of them, stopping it in midair. In a burst of anger, Anne closed her hand into a tight fist. The result was the crushing of the aerial demon's skull, killing it quickly. She looked back at Death, who had retracted his hand and now wielded a massive scythe in his hand with the visage of skulls adorning the flat of the blade, the skull's eyes glowing blue. As he cut through several Duskwings, Anne immediately saw her chance to escape. She closed her eyes and imagined the shelter. She wanted to go there. She was consumed in black and blue flames, and suddenly, she was gone.


End file.
